Legacy
by TinyButDangerous
Summary: Alex Brandon is sent to live in Forks after her mother is murdered by her abusive stepfather. When she discovered the Cullens' she automatically knows that there is something different about them, something not human. Who is this Alice Cullen who looks like her? What will happen when Alex's past comes back to haunt her? I DON'T OWN TWILIGHT. Rated T for a reason.
1. Preface

Preface

The sun had barely set over the horizon when the man ran into the alley. It was quiet except for occasional passing car or bike. Traffic on this Boston road had died down as the evening rush began to die. It was a typical evening, except for the woman left cowering behind a garbage bin.

She was clearly hoping not to be found. Tears streamed down her eyes as she prayed for the best. Her black hair was matted, her clothes were torn and dirty and a bruise was forming on the side of her face. She was terrified.

The man had a sick smile across his face as he advanced towards the woman.

"Kitten, come out," he called in sick and twisted voice. His face was dark and morbid, like someone who genuinely enjoyed the hunt, and the pain.

The woman's face visibly paled and she tried to hide further back into the corner. The man sauntered forward, ready to make his move.

"Now Kitten, why do you have to be like that?" he asked as he ran his hands through his slick, dark brown hair. In that moment, it was clear there was a lot wrong with the this man.

He reached behind the garbage and pulled the woman out by her hair. She cried, causing her blue eyes to grow. She knew it was over, there was nothing she could do. There was no hope left.

"Why are you doing this?" she begged.

"Oh, its all part of the game. The game that will never end," he purred throwing her a few feet forward.

"Please, don't do this, think about my daughter," she begged, desperately, clearly will to say or do anything to save herself so she could save her daughter.

The man pulled a knife out of his pocket. It glowed against the setting sunlight. He stared at the knife, his face plastered with sick, and demented joy.

"But I must," he purred as he dove in for the kill.

***** A Few Miles Away *****

Alex Brandon shot awake, beads of sweat rolling down her face. Her breathing was erratic as she looked around her room in a panic. She usually didn't nap after super but today, she was tired from school and her early morning shift at the school cafeteria.

The dream was so vivid. Images of her mother and her step father brought chills down her spine. There was something about this dream that seemed too real that it brought terrible mix of nausea and icy chills to her stomach and felt like it was traveling through the rest of her body. It took minutes to even out her breathing and even then she couldn't shake this feeling.

Alex curled up under her blankets and looked out the window. Drake had taken her mother out for the evening, so she knew they weren't home, thank goodness. Alex hated when he was home because either he ignored her, which she was fine with, or gave her too much attention.

Her mother couldn't tell what kind of man she had married. She was blind to the horrible truth that was right in front of her eyes.

As Alex began dozing off, those images filled her mind. The chill was slowly getting colder until it began to feel like someone holding ice cubes along her spine. She shivered in bed, trying to ignore the images. They were crazy! They stuck in her mind, like she needed to do something. The fear was building in her stomach. A lump was forming in her throat like she wanted to run somewhere, scream or be sick but she wasn't sure.

She was almost asleep again until pounding woke her back up. She tried to ignore it, until she realized it was the door.

She bolted out of bed and to the door. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Cold hard dread filled her body, all of her senses and her every thought. The images from the dream flooded her mind and she told herself she was being crazy, her mother was fine.

She got to the door and noticed the colorful flashes of a police car outside. Her knees nearly gave out as she answered the door to find two police officers standing there, with tense expressions on their faces. They bared bad news.

"Are you Alexandra Brandon, daughter of Marly Brandon?" he asked, an officer asked, his tone was even but loud.

"Yes," she whispered.

 _Don't say it, don't you DARE say it!_ A voice in her head begged.

"We come with some bad news," he started.

 _Shut UP!_ Alex's mind desperately screamed. He opened his mouth and said the words she had been dreading and fearing with her life.

"It's about your mother."


	2. Chapter 1: Forks

**Set not long after Breaking Dawn**

Chapter One

My mother had a simple funeral, as she would have liked. Drake wasn't there as he was a prime suspect in her murder. I had wanted to tell the police of the dream but it was too weird. I knew it was just a freak thing but it still gave me an odd feeling in my spine.

Now, the funeral was over and I was being put on a plane to live with my god-mother. I can't say I was angry to be leaving Boston, after all it meant leaving Drake behind and that alone was a plus. But to go to Forks, Washington, where it rains almost everyday seemed depressing.

I liked my godmother, but couldn't she live in a place where the sun existed?

As I got ready for take off, I pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I resembled my mother in a lot of ways. I had her black hair, intense blue eyes and high cheekbones. I missed her like crazy and wasn't sure what I was going to do without her.

I fell asleep on the runway in Boston and woke up as the plane hit the runway in Seattle. It was around 6am and I still had the endure the drive from Seattle to Forks. I got off the plane and spotted Carolyn right away.

Carolyn was a doctor at Forks hospital. It was obvious she had just gotten off of work before she had to come and pick me up from the airport.

Carolyn pulled me into a hug and quickly patted my shoulder.

Of course, my bag was practically the last one to come out.

As I spotted the bag, I walked over and grabbed the handle. But instead of it coming to me, it yanked me forward, almost throwing me onto the conveyer belt. I tried to get up but my zipper was caught on something. I thrashed as I spotted the end of the belt. The suitcase in front of my passed the barrier and I heard it crash down somewhere. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact when a pair of cold, strong arms yanked me from the belt and set me on my feet.

In front of me was a tall blonde man with unusual gold eyes. He was perfect in every way but he was in his late twenties, so that was where that would go. He was staring at me with a look of curiosity and slight confusion.

Carolyn rushed over, her face flooded with relief.

"Carlisle, thank goodness you caught her! What are you doning here?" she asked. I could imagine what she was experiencing. I had been in her care for all of ten minutes, and I throw myself onto an airport conveyer belt to who-knows-where.

"I was just seeing some friends off, how about you?" he asked, smiling.

"Well, I was just picking my goddaughter up. I she's coming to live with me," she said putting her arm around me.

"Hello, I'm Carlisle Cullen," he said putting his hand out for me to shake.

"Alex Brandon," I said, shaking his frozen hand.

His expression changed, like the name was familiar and before I could say anything, it was gone.

"I'd better go, I need to get to work," Carlisle said dashing towards the door.

I stared after him and one thing popped into my mind and I immediately dismissed it because of the craziness of it.

 _He's not human._

CARPOV

I got to work and went to my office. My mind was reeling. The name wasn't enough to peek my attention but the fact that, minus a few details, looked like she and Alice could be twins.

I pulled up a site I know very well and typed the name "Alex Brandon" into the database. After a few seconds I heard a ping and there she was.

It showed her mother, who'd recently been murdered. I went up the line until I found the name I was looking for. Mary Alice Brandon. She'd had a son and line continued, until four generations later, when Alex was born. If what I was reading was true, Alice was Alex's only living relative.

It's just too bad she could never know.


	3. Chapter 2: School

**Okay, tried 1rst person but I found 3rd person easier with this story. Going to try it for this story. I made a brief change in the Preface, just Drake's description and it was done for a reason.**

Forks Washington was nothing like Alex had expected. She knew it was going to be wet and grungy but she hadn't been expecting this wet or grungy. If she was depressed before, she was more depressed now. It rained all the time like she had been told but there is a difference between knowing and experiencing. If it wasn't for the fact that whole states now separated her and Drake, she would have thought the whole situation was a nightmare.

Alex's room was a lot bigger than her room in her room in Boston, which she didn't enjoy as much as the fact that she had her own bathroom. As she prepared her new items for school she caught herself looking around her room. It was plain and simple, giving her space to decorate to her heart's content.

As Alex curled into bed, she heard someone pass her door. For a minute, her heart raced. She knew Drake wasn't here and would not be entering her room, but that didn't stop the reaction that happened anytime someone passed her door. After a few tense seconds she calmed down and curled down to go to sleep. She had cried most of the previous night and was exhausted tonight.

As Alex's phone woke her, she looked out at the gray clouds that covered the sky like a blanket and her heart sunk.

After showering, doing her hair she went to her closet. She didn't have as many clothes as she would have liked. And the ones she had were from 6th grade. She wasn't picky, she just wished she had some new clothes to look at. But she knew that wasn't an option in Boston as money wasn't a luxury.

"Alex, honey, are you ready to go?" Carolyn called through the door. Alex knew it was time to go to school. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as the idea of beginning a new school at the middle of the year. On top of that, she was sure everyone knew why she was here and that if they didn't, they would. Alex had never lived in a small town before but she knew things like this spread like a wildfire.

"I'm coming," she said as she stepped out of the bathroom in a black denim skirt and a pink sweater with matching sneakers. She threw a dark pink hair clip into her hair and followed Carolyn downstairs.

"How do I look?" she asked doing a quick twist for her godmother.

"Oh sweetie, you look wonderful," the older woman said, throwing her arms around the small teenager.

The car ride to Fork High was basically blurring green trees, mossy ground and damp roads. Alex sighed nervously as the school came into view and the sight of other students. She was going to be the new girl, and in a school like this, that was an uncommon occurrence. She knew she was going to be crowded and gawked. She also knew the faces were going to plastered with pity once they found out her story.

"I need to sign some paperwork, because I only just got the legal guardian paperwork and they will need a copy," she said, stepping out of the car. I followed behind, trying to ignore the faces that were staring at me with a curious and gossip hungry eyes.

The secretary had thick red hair and freckles that almost blended with her flushed face. She was struggling to organize a stack of papers. Once she noticed the people standing in front of her she threw the papers into a drawer and smiled.

"Ah yes, you must be Alex Brandon, I am Mrs. Cope and I am the secretary," she said, her voice was nasally and high pitched.

"I have the forms for you," Carolyn said, pulling some legal documents out of her purse.

"Ah, OK, I'll just get someone down to bring Alex to class and I have a few more forms for you to fill out," Mrs. Cope said, gesturing a student for the hall to come over.

"Could you please bring Miss Brandon to class? She's in first string with you." she said to the girl.

"Okay, bye sweetie," Carolyn called behind Alex as the two girls went down the hall.

The hallway was like any high school. It was polluted with signs about not smoking, using protection and being respectful. Alex rolled her eyes and chuckled to herself as she realized some things never change.

"I'm Olivia," the girl said offering her hand for Alex to shake.

"I'm Alex," she said, trying to sound confident and together.

"This is your first class. The students are broke into schedule strings. First, second and third. The strings have all classes except extracurriculars together," Olivia explained as they walked into a classroom.

The school day was like any other school day for Alex. The only difference being she was surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar environment which made the urge to run out the door as fast as her legs could carry her that much more intense.

By the end of the school day, Alex was grateful for the day to be over and couldn't wait to get home and retreat to her room.

When she got in the car, Carolyn smiled and asked the usual after school questions. Alex responded with typical answers.

"This isn't the right way," Alex frowned, as they turned down the highway.

"Right, Dr. Cullen has invited us to dinner. I hope that's OK," Carolyn said.

"Sure, that's fine," Alex muttered and stared out the window.

Before she knew it they were in front of the largest house she had ever seen. This house was bigger than any house she had ever been in. She stepped out of the car and tried to stop her jaw from dropping at it's size. She found herself adjusting her hair band and skirt. She wished she had selected something nicer this morning.

"Ready?" Carolyn asked.

"No," she whispered low enough that no one would hear. "I guess," she said, stepping towards the front door.

Alex felt butterflies in her stomach as Carolyn knocked on the door. Several seconds later the door opened, and there stood a girl who very easily could have been related to Alex. She had similar facial features, black hair and was even similar in height. But she had gold eyes, pale skin and perfect skin.

She reached her hand out for Alex to shake.

"I'm Alice Cullen," she said, as Alex shook her hand.

Alex knew she should have been surprised by her ice cold hands, but it was almost like on some level, she was expecting it.


	4. Chapter 3: Panic

The Cullens' home was big. No, it was huge. Alex knew she had never been in such a large home. The whole house was roughly surrounded by windows. It was beautiful considering how green it was outside. It gave Alex the illusion of being outside despite the fact that she was indoors.

"This is the living room," Alice pointed out the living room.

"Hello Alex, Carolyn," Carlisle acknowledged as he walked gracefully into the room.

"Hello Dr. Cullen," Alex greeted politely.

"Please, call me Carlisle," he said, leading everyone into a large massive dining room. In the middle of the dining room was a massive table set for eight.

"My family should be down soon," he said, leading Alex and Carolyn to seats. Alice sat directly in front of Alex.

"Would anyone like some refreshments?" Carlisle asked scanning the table.

"I'll have some juice please," Alex asked, hoping not to be any trouble.

Alex was looking around the room when she noticed two people had walked in. One was a blonde and she was so beautiful it made Alex want to crawl under a rock or put a sack over her head. The man beside her was large, muscular and intimidating, he also made Alex want to crawl under a rock but for different reasons. It took everything she had not to let her jaw drop.

Because like Carlisle and Alice, these two were also perfect, gold eyes and pale.

"Rosalie, Emmett, you're late," Alice demanded, pointing for them to sit.

"That would be my fault," said a man from the doorway. He was blonde like Carlisle but his hair was curled slightly. He had gold eyes as well but he seemed to be uncomfortable in his settings. He sat down beside Alice and took her hand and kissed it.

"This is Jasper," she pointed out.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said in an accent that clearly wasn't from around here. Alex couldn't help feel self-conscious around so many good looking people. She knew she paled in comparison to everyone at this table.

When Carlisle returned he had several glasses and he was accompanied by a woman with caramel colored hair and of course gold eyes. Why wasn't Alex surprised this woman had gold eyes as well.

"This is my wife, Esme," Carlisle announced proudly, as he pulled out a seat for her. Alex was surprised to see such an act but appreciated it at the same time.

After a few minutes of silence, everyone began eating. The meal was steak and potatoes with vegetables. The food was so good, it made Alex's mouth water. She had never had such a good meal in her life. Once the food was gone, everyone sat in the dining room for a few minutes. During diner, Alex had learned that Rosalie and Emmett were recently married, Jasper and Alice were engaged and they had another brother called Edward who had recently been married to a woman named Bella.

Once Carolyn and Alex were in the car, Alex stared out the window, watching the trees pass. Before Alex knew it, Carolyn was shaking her awake because they were home.

Alex trudged upstairs and threw on pajamas, and without as much as brushing her hair, collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

***** The Next Day *****

School that morning went by quickly. It wasn't until after lunch that Alex became nervous about her new gym class. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous as she enjoyed gym class. Yesterday she had been disappointed she couldn't participate.

Olivia had shown her where to change into her gym clothes and went to join the class.

After gym class, Alex was getting ready to go home. She felt nice after having taken a shower to get rid of the sweat. She stepped out of the the change room just as a boy stepped out the the boys change room. She ran directly into him. As she almost fell back, he grabbed her and pulled her back up. She looked up at his face to apologize and her heart went crazy. He had thick dark brown hair, dark eyes and was clearly Native American. His expression was full of awe and happiness. But his features did nothing but bring her mind back to Drake.

Logically, she knew this boy was a far cry from Drake. This boy was handsome, young and perfect. She'd never seen anyone so perfect. Unlike the Cullens' he was a different kind of perfect. But the logical part of her brain was squashed by the part of her brain that was seeing the dark hair, eyes, size and the fact that he was touching her. She pushed him away and began running, despite how hard her legs were shaking.

As she rounded a few corners, her breathing evened and her heart slowed to a healthy level. She felt bad for running away like that because she knew without looking that he was crushed by her reaction for some reason.

She made her way out to her godmother's car and climbed in.

"Are you okay?" she asked, taking in Alex's flushed face.

"Yeah, we had gym class," Alex explained, not telling her about her reaction to that boy. Alex knew if she explained that, she would have to explain about Drake and she would rather not explain that, she would much rather try and forget it all.


	5. Chapter 4: Seth

**A/N Let me know if you would like me to write Seth's reaction to his meeting with Alex.**

The next day, Alex dreaded going to school. She actually spent the better part of the morning debating whether or not to pretend to be sick. At the end of her shower, she knew she was already behind and could not afford to be missing time unless she was really sick. So she got dressed, sucked it up and went to school.

Of course, she ran into him within a few minutes of arriving at the school. She bit back the reaction because she knew in her head this wasn't Drake and somehow she knew he wasn't going to hurt her.

"Hey, you dropped this yesterday," he said holding up a keychain that Alex didn't realize she had lost.

"Thank you," she breathed as she took the chain from him. "I'm sorry about running like that, I just... I'm sorry," she said, not really sure what she could say to make this better.

"Oh, it's fine, really. I'm just glad you're ok," he replied, his tone was sincere and true.

"I'm Alex," she said, fairly sure he already knew that.

The boys face broke into a smile upon hearing her name.

"I'm Seth," he said holding out his hand for Alex to shake.

As soon as their hands touched, Alex's mind was flooded by an image.

 _Seth and I were curled up somewhere together. We looked so content and comfortable. Then he leaned in to kiss me._

The image went away as quickly as it came and Alex was left feeling dizzy and slightly sick to her stomach.

"You alright?" he asked, his face flooded with concern as she swayed.

"Yeah, just a little light headed, I think it was something I ate," she whispered.

"Okay, would you like to get something to eat after school?" he asked, grinning a cute little grin that made Alex's heart stutter.

"Okay, I'll let Carolyn know to pick me up later," Alex said grinning, as she started a text to Carolyn.

"Tell her I'll drop you off," he said, and Alex's heart went wild and she revised the text and sent it. Carolyn replied quickly saying to be careful and to check in when she got home.

"It's all good," Alex said smiling at Seth.

After school Alex and Seth met in the school lobby. Alex noticed that he had cleaned up and put a little extra effort into styling his hair when he finished with gym. Then again she had gone through the trouble of twisting her hair into a cute little style after her shower. Unfortunately, the outfit she was wearing was going to have to do.

He took her hand and guided her outside. This time, the contact didn't cause any weird images to pop into her mind but still left her feeling a little flustered. Alex could not understand how she could have such powerful feelings for someone she had just met a few days ago.

"Where are we going, Seth?"

"We are going for a picnic?" he said smiling. "I have some food in my backpack."

They walked until they reached a beautiful clearing. They sat down and Seth pulled out a few sandwiches. They ate in silence and when they were done, they continued walking.

"You know where we're going, right?" Alex asked, confident that he did.

"Yeah, I know where we're going," he said. They found a log and sat down.

"I was trying to figure out a way to tell you this but I think it better to just come out and say it. I'm a wolf," he said, his voice shook with every syllable and he stared at her waiting for a reaction.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

He launched into an explanation that involved legends, and tales of vampires, the name Cullen even came up a few times.

"Okay prove it," she said.

Seth sighed and said, "I figured you'd say that. Stay back."

He stepped back several feet and before Alex knew it, he had exploded into a large wolf. Alex thought she should be terrified and scared but looking into his eyes, she felt content and peaceful. She believed everything he said. He grabbed a bag with his muzzle and dashed behind a tree. Shreds of his destroyed clothes hooked onto his claws.

When he returned, he was wearing a new outfit and staring at Alex apprehensively. Alex wondered over to where he was standing.

"You said you weren't allowed to tell humans," she spoke softly.

"Yes, well, there are exceptions. Remember the imprinting thing I told you about?" he asked.

Alex nodded.

"I imprinted on you."

Alex stood there for a few seconds letting it settle into her mind. She felt her heart pick up in speed.

"I know it's a lot to take in, and if you want to leave, you can," he said nervously.

Alex responded by taking Seth's hand in hers and smiling.

"I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon."

The couple continued walking along until they found a waterfall. It was the most beautiful thing Alex had ever seen in her life. It made Alex forget everything she had ever been through, including the events that brought her to Forks.

Seth sat on a log and took Alex into his arms. They sat watching the water run for a while.

"You said you need to be around vampires to activate your wolf genes," she asked him after a few minutes of silence.

Seth nodded enjoying the moment too much to say anything.

"Was is the Cullen family, are they animal drinking vampires?" she asked.

"You connect those things really well and yes, they are," he said holding her closer. For the first time since she arrived Forks, she was completely at ease and calm.

**** Later ****

When Seth pulled into Alex's driveway, she could see the lights were still on. She knew it was past suppertime and that Carolyn was probably nervous.

Alex got out of the car and so did Seth. Alex wanted to argue but she knew he wasn't going anywhere.

They went inside and found Carolyn sitting at the kitchen table. She was going through some paper work and frowning. Once she noticed the teenagers standing there she stood up and looked at them.

"I'm Seth ma'am," he said, holding his hand for Alex's godmother.

"It's nice to meet you, young man," she said and then broke out laughing. "You don't need to be so formal. Ma'am! I'm not that old. I'm cool with dating and don't really care what you do" she said.

Alex took advantage of those words and decided to be funny. She grabbed Seth's hand.

"You heard her, she doesn't care what we do. We'll be in my room 'til morning," she called back, pretending to drag Seth to the stairwell.

"Ok, I do care what you do. What I'm saying is, I know of your family, you're good people. I trust you with her... Just not in her bedroom with the door closed," Carolyn said, her tone carried warning and a threat all in one.


	6. Chapter 5: Mary Alice

Alex was in a constant state of bliss. Ever since she had learned about Seth, he was all she could think about. The logical part of her brain told her to be afraid, to run and hide. But that part of her brain was muted by the part that was seeing his adorable smile and his compassionate expression. It didn't matter that he wasn't human, because she could feel in her gut that she could trust him.

Alex and Seth were sitting in her room, with the door open, talking about the Cullens. It had already been established that they were vampires, but Seth wasn't talking about that, he was talking about them as people. He told her things like Edward was really good at piano, Rosalie was a great car mechanic, and Jasper was just really great to talk to. He even told me about Renesmee.

"Actually, its interesting, I recently found out that you and Alice have the same last name," Seth said. "I mean Brandon isn't an uncommon last name, but from what I'm told, you guys look related," he said, frowning.

Alex went over to a her computer and pulled up a genealogy site.

"What did you say her full name was?" Alex asked as she logged into the website and bringing it to the right page.

"Mary Alice Brandon," Seth replied, shifting in his seat so that he was sitting beside Alex and could see the computer screen. Alex could feel him resting his head on her shoulder. She felt so comfortable with him and so at peace, she often found herself wondering if he was real or just a desperate fantasy. As she thought about the name, it sounded really familiar, like she had heard the name before whenever some of her older family members got together.

Unfortunately, Alex was the last of the family still alive, so she couldn't talk to them.

After a few minutes, a result popped up.

Mary Alice Brandon brought up a family tree. Every names before Mary Alice was unknown to Alex, but every name that came after her was easy to recognize. She knew each of the names from Mary Alice's son, all the way down the line to her mother and then finally her name.

"Alice Cullen is my great, great, grandmother," Alex whispered, seeing the evidence in front of her. She knew the woman looked like her but she would have never guessed they were related. Okay, she would have but now that the evidence was right in front of her, it seemed to be a little different. Alex looked at Seth and smiled.

"I have a living relative," she cried as she threw her arms around his shoulders, and smiled happily. She didn't know what to do with the information but the knowledge seemed to jog some memories. Her grandmother had mentioned Mary Alice before but never in the most cheerful of ways. She had disappeared from and asylum. Seth had told her that Alice was psychic, and once that memory was triggered, it clicked that that's probably why she was there.

"Alice lost all of her human memories," Seth told her, frowning.

Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could someone forget their entire life?

"Can we see them?" Alex asked, smiling.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Seth asked, clearly knowing her well enough to know she wasn't going to be talked out of this. It hadn't taken Seth long to learn that when Alex set her mind, he should just go along with it.

"Alright, I'll call over, see if they're up for company and we'll head over," he said taking out his cell phone.

When he finished making a call, he smiled at Alex and took her hand.

"Let's go," he said as they headed out the door to his car.

The drive over to the Cullens was quick with Seth considering he actually knew where he was going and knew where to turn off. As they went down the road, Alex's stomach twisted nervously.

"They won't hurt you," Seth assured. "I wouldn't be taking you if I thought they were that dangerous."

Alex shook her head and sighed at the statement.

"I'm not nervous that they'll hurt me, I'm just..."

"Nervous," Seth finished for her and smiled warmly at her. Alex's cheeks flushed as he took her hand and rubbed it between his large, warm fingers. It was moments like this that she wished never had to end.

They pulled into the Cullens' driveway and Seth opened Alex's door for her. It was too late to back out now. She had to offer some type of explanation for why she was there. She was pretty sure they couldn't drive away and pretend they had never been there. If Alex was right, they'd known they were there upon pulling off of the highway.

They stepped towards the steps and Seth walked up to the door, reached out and opened it. Alex wasn't surprised, the way Seth talked made it easy to believe that Seth practically lived here. He took Alex's hand and guided her into a family room.

"I'm guessing you did some research," Carlisle said, stepping in from another room.

Alex nodded. Carlisle knew already. It was clear in his eyes, and once she nodded, he smiled.

"I'm guessing since you're here, Seth has filled you in on us," he said quietly.

Alex bit back the urge to laugh.

"He filled me in on a lot," she said thinking about how Seth had told her he'd witnessed the calm, placid doctor, dancing and singing to Abba.

"Is it true?" she asked him, seriously. Clearly a doctor had access to better genealogy resources than she did and would know for real.

Carlisle nodded and smiled. "From what I found, it is."

Alex smiled at Seth, who wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"She knows about you," Carlisle said pointing to Alex. "But I'll let you guys fill her in about _you!_ " He pointed at his arm around her shoulder. By looking at the couple, Carlisle could tell this boy would clearly die for this girl. And once Alice found out her last living relative was imprinted on, there was a chance he would.


	7. Chapter 6: Lexicon

Alex was sitting in the living room with Seth's arm wrapped around her. They were both sipping orange juice was watching something on TV. They were both perfectly content not saying a word to each other, just enjoying each others presence. When a car pulled in the garage, neither of them as much as acknowledged it. The door opened and Seth and Alex jumped apart. Alex was startled by the just how quickly Seth moved and how alert he appeared.

"Seth, what..." Alice started as she walked into the living room. "What's going on, Seth?" Alice looked at the two on them. Seth was well composed and calm, while Alex looked like Alice had just walked in on a lot more than just snuggling.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked again, after getting no response for the first time.

Alex felt like she'd lost control of her vocal cords, like if she opened her mouth, she didn't know what would come out. And with how nervous she was, she was slightly worried her lunch was one of the things that could slide out.

Carlisle said Alice already knew that she was her long lost relative but she wasn't sure how to go about explaining that she knew. And then, she would have to explain why she was here with Seth of all people.

Seth suddenly stood up, pulled Alex onto her feet and smiled at Alice.

"I would like to introduce you to your great, great granddaughter, Alex Brandon," he said, taking the pressure off of Alex.

Alex smiled nervously, not really sure what she was supposed to say or do in this kind of situation. They don't have a book on how to introduce yourself to long lost vampire relatives. Before Alex could figure out a single word to say, she found that Alice had thrown her arms around her in a giant hug.

"I can't believe you're here, its amazing knowing I have a relative," she said, hugging Alex tighter.

"Can't breath," Alex whispered. Alice released her arms and gave a guilty smile. "Let me look at you!" Alice was really starting to sound like a grandparent. She remembered the last time she had been with her grandmother. They were at a school play and she announced how happy she was that Alex was finally growing boobs. Hopefully Alice would not do that.

"Wow, you do look like me," she whispered, now getting a closer look at the small human.

"You must tell me about yourself, where you grew up, what are your interests, do you like shopping, oh my gosh, there is so much I want to know about you!" Alice was getting more excited by the second.

"There's not much to tell, I grew up in Boston, my mom died and now I'm here," she summed it up quickly, knowing Alice would have already known about her mother being killed.

"How do you like it here?" Alice asked, as she and Alex both sat down. Seth sat down beside Alex causing Alice's expression to become confused.

"Wait, why are you here with him?" Alice asked, looking at Seth.

"Seth is the one who brought me here," Alex whispered nervously. "He told me about you guys and what you are and what he is."

"But, I thought you weren't supposed to tell humans unless... oh no! Seth really! On Alex!" she cried, figuring it out really quickly.

"You know I couldn't control it," he said.

Two vampires Alex had not met before walked in the room. Alex assumed they were Edward and Bella. Edward looked uncomfortable, clearly already knowing what was going on.

"You were enrolled into Forks High to watch her, not to imprint on her," Alice cried, standing up and pacing.

Seth had explained that he'd wanted to go back to school and Alice had suggested Forks High so he could make sure Alex was safe, so she wasn't surprised to hear this come up.

Upon seeing Bella and Edward, she looked back at Seth.

"I swear if you try to give her any weird nicknames, I will end you," she screamed.

"I guess you can't call me Lexicon anymore," Alex whispered, feeling him tense up behind her. Alice's eyes shot over to Seth, who looked almost as pale as her. Edward let out a snort of laughter and Bella gave a small grin as well.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" he gasped.

"Okay, I'll calm down but Seth, really!" she said rubbing the sides of her head, like she had a headache. "You're lucky Alex is here."

Alex and Alice sat and talked for a few more minutes before Seth looked at the time and nudged Alex.

"We actually need to go, my curfews in 30 minutes," Alex muttered, not really wanting to leave.

"Let's go shopping tomorrow," Alice suggested. "The two of us." The last part seemed pointed at Seth.

"I don't have much money," Alex whispered, looking at the ground.

"Nonsense, you're family. You don't need to bring money," Alice said. "I'll pick you up at noon."

Back in the car Alex smiled at Seth. "Did you have a nice time, Seth?"

"Absolutely, nothing better than meeting the parents," he muttered digging out his keys.

"Can we get ice cream on the way?" she asked, knowing he'd say yes.

"Whatever you want, Lexicon," Seth said. For a second Aliex thought she heard an angry growl in the distance. Seth paled a shade, indicating he'd heard it as well.

That night, as Alex was eating dinner, she couldn't wipe the grin off of her face. As she breathed, she could smell Seth on her shoulders and that brought her to a happy and joyous state of mind. Seth had explained imprinting, so she knew not to be surprised by the intensity of their relationship. But it was a little frightening. It was like a rollar coaster. The ride was terrifying, left your stomach at your feet, and dizzy as hell. But it was worth every second.


	8. Chapter 7: Date

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long and it's just a filler. The plot will pick up soon and secrets are going to be revealed and pasts will come back to haunt poor Alex.**

As promised, Alice picked Alex up at noon and they went to Port Angeles. Upon finding out that Alex enjoyed shopping, it was like all of Alice's dreams had come true. "Now I know you got all of the right genes from me!"

Bye time they'd finished, Alex had more clothes than she knew what to do with. She was happy to finally have new clothes to wear but her feet were killing her from walking around so much. But she'd had a good time with Alice.

When Alex got back home, Seth was waiting on her doorstep with a bouquet or flowers.

"I'll just leave you two," Alice said, as Alex climbed out.

Alex waved as Alice drove away.

"So, do you want to go back to our spot," Seth asked grinning as he handed Alex the flowers.

Before Alex knew it, they were walking in the forest towards her favorite spot.

When they reached the waterfall, the perimeter of the area had been surrounded by beautiful flowers. There were flowers floating in the water under the waterfall and a beautiful picnic dinner had been set up. Alex felt her jaw drop as she examined the beautiful scene in front of her. It was like something out of the fairy tales.

They sat down and began enjoying the beautiful meal together. When they were done, the couple sat on the log they had sat on the first time they were here. Alex snuggled close to Seth who wrapped his arm around her.

"I can't believe how everything has changed since I got here," she sighed, smiling at Seth. It was true, before she'd met Seth, she had no idea how much communication could take place between two people with only their eyes.

"Yeah, I hope those changes are good," he whispered as he nestled his head onto her shoulder.

"Yes, they are for the best!" Alex sighed, reaching up and feeling his face. Seth didn't have a beard, but she could feel a slight stubble forming. The hair tickled the palm of her hand and almost made her giggle.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Seth murmured.

"Hey Seth?" Alex asked suddenly, feeling confidence building and she gathered up her nerves.

"Yeah," he replied, perfectly content to hold Alex in his arms.

Alex then reached up and took Seth's face in her hands and kissed him softly on the lips. The act felt like it was the most natural thing on the planet but at the same time, left her breathless and electrified. Alex had no idea that one moment could possibly feel so perfect and so meant to be. It was like Alex's whole life was in anticipation of this moment.

He smiled against her lips and when they broke apart, Alex was lightheaded and flushed. They spent the rest of the evening in each others' arms, watching the sunset.

At the end of the night, Seth walked Alex to her doorstep and kissed her goodnight. Alex wished the night never had to end.

When she got home, Alex floated up her stairs and into her room. The feeling of Seth's lips lingered on hers and she layed and bed and just savored the feeling. It was peaceful and magical. Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning at school, Seth was waiting by her locker with a present. Alex blushed as she got closer to him.

"I got you a little something," he said, handing Alex a box. Ales opened the box and gasped at what was inside the box. It was a necklace that spelled out _Alex._ It was beautiful.

"Thank you Seth," she whispered and he went behind her and put the necklace onto her neck. Alex reached up and touched the metal with her fingers.

Seth took Alex's hand into his exceptionally warm hand and walked her down the hall. He walked her to her first class and kissed her at the door. Alex wished they had the same class but he was a year above her and his classes would automatically be different from hers.

As she sat down in the classroom, she could see some of the girls staring at her, with envious expressions on their faces. Wren Newton sat down beside her and grinned.

"Did Seth Clearwater just kiss you!" she gasped, her face was flush with excitement. Alex grinned and nodded.

After school, Seth and Alex walked outside to find Alice sitting in the parking lot in her Porsche. Alex knew her classmates were jealous when they saw Seth kissing her but their expressions were priceless when she got into a Porsche.

"Don't worry, I already phone Carolyn and she knows you're coming over," Alice said, grinning as they sped out of the parking lot. Seth and Alex were in the back seat while Alice drove to the Cullens' house.

"How was school?" Alice asked, grinning at Alex.

"Don't you already know?" Alex asked, knowing about Alice's gift and how it worked. She suddenly realized that meant every kiss between her and Seth had be observed as well.

"Actually, I don't. Your boyfriend here blocks my visions. When you're with him, I can't see you," she said, sounding mildly annoyed. Alex however was quite relieved to hear that Alice wasn't watching her and Seth's dates.

"That must suck," Alex muttered.

"Yeah, save it, I know that's the best news you've heard so far," Alice laughed.

"So what will we be doing today?" Alex asked as they pulled into the Cullens' garage.

Alice grinning and hopped out of the car.

"You're going to meet Renesmee and then we you guys are going to have dinner," Alice said smiling.

 **Next chapter, Alex will meet Nessie.**


	9. Chapter 8: Nothing

Renesmee was a vampire/human hybrid. She was born to Bella while she was still human. She was four years old and looked to be the size of a twelve-year-old. Alex also learned that like Seth, she blocked Alice's visions. Renesmee was nice and easy to get along with. As Alex sat and ate with Nessie, Jacob and Seth, they talked about random stuff.

"We're the only ones in the house who actually eat food, so Grandma Esme loves having people to cook for," Renesmee said, grinning.

Alex frowned.

"I saw them eating the day Carolyn and I came over for dinner," she said, looking around.

"That was just to keep up appearances," Nessie said as she took a bite of her food.

After they had eaten, Nessie and Jacob left. Seth and Alex sat curled up on the couch together, enjoying being in each others' arms. Alex closed her eyes and just enjoyed the closeness to this perfect being.

After an unknown amount of time, Alex woke up and looked around the dark room. She nestled into Seth until the clock that was blinking 3:35 crashed her back into reality.

She shot up and looked around the room.

"Alex, calm down, what's wrong?" Seth said, clearly hearing the fact that her heart was beating ten times faster.

"It's three o'clock and Carolyn..."

"Was called when you fell asleep. She thinks you're having girls' night with your long lost _cousin_ Alice," Seth said, pulled Alex back into his warm arms and holding her close.

"Oh," Alex said as she nestled her face into his chest. She was starting to calm down and before she knew it, she was back to sleeping in his arms again.

In the morning, when Alex woke up in Seth's arms, she woke him up by planting a kiss onto his lips. Soon, one kiss became multiple kisses until...

"Nobody wants to see that, Short Stuff!" Emmett called from across the room.

Alex felt her face turn beat red, as she realized she and Seth had company.

Emmett was smirking at her and Alex knew she was going to hear about this for a long time.

"Leave her alone, Emmett," Rosalie said, smacking him over the head. "What my husband came out to tell you was that Esme made you two breakfast."

Alex and Seth walked into the kitchen and sat on bar stools. Pancakes, bacon and eggs waited for them. There was enough to feed roughly ten people.

"Eat up before Leah and Jacob get here," Esme said, scooping food onto their plates.

Alex and Seth ate their food and watched as Esme began cooking some more food. She was clearly enjoying cooking and was very good at it.

When they were finished eating, a girl who looked a lot like Seth but a bit older, walked into the room and grabbed a plate from Esme.

"Leah, this is Alex, Alex, this is Leah," Seth said once Leah was seated.

"Hi," Leah said looking neither happy or unhappy to see her.

"She's my imprint," Seth said, causing Leah to choke on her food for a second before taking a longer look at Alex. Suddenly she appeared to be more interested and was staring at Seth with an expression that betrayed no emotion at all.

"You're sure, Seth?" she asked, looking at Alex as Seth took her hand with his and held it tight.

"I've never been more sure in my life," he whispered, his voice dripping with sincerity.

Leah grinned and held out her hand for Alex to take.

"It's nice to meet you," she said as she shook Alex's hand.

Later that day, Alex was outside with Renesmee. They were wandering around La Push beach. Jacob, Leah and Seth were having a meeting on the other side of the beach. They were going to having a bonfire and Alex and Nessie were going to be guests.

"The food is amazing, it's cooked over the fire!" Nessie whispered happily. Nessie had been to many of these weekly bonfires and knew exactly what they were like.

Alex was about to say sometime when a feeling of dread and worry crossed her. Something bad was going to happen. She could feel it churning in her stomach.

Nessie began chattered about some of the arguments the boys had.

 _It was going to happen in thirty seconds_ a dreadful voice filled her mind.

"And watching the boys throw food is always hilarious".

Suddenly words crossed Alex's mind that brought chills down her spine and made her mind spin uncontrollably.

 _They're here._

And before Alex could open her mouth, someone reached behind her and Nessie and shoved clothes over their mouths and noses. Something told Alex not to breath but when she gasped, she took a breath in and the world began to fade away.

Then, there was _nothing._

 ** _Oooh, what just happened... Plot twist, plot TWIST!_**


	10. Chapter 9: Drake

**WARNING: includes implied rape.**

Loud, everything was too loud.

 _Thump, Thump, Thump..._

Even the beating of her own heart was too loud against Alex's head right now. She went to wipe her face but she realized she was tied to someone. The rope was digging into her wrist, burning and scraping. It was far from comfortable.

Alex opened her eyes to find she was in a warehouse. There were boxes everywhere, no windows, thick concrete walls and a thick concrete floor. The air was cool and stale, like this place not had people inside of it for a long time. Everything was coated with a few layers of dust and spider webs in the corners looked to be thriving. At least they were comfortable, Alex thought morbidly.

Alex's wrists were tied to Nessie's wrists and their backs were pressed together. Her feet were also tied together. She could feel Nessie stirring behind her.

"Alex, are you awake?" she whispered groggily.

"Yeah, are you alright Nessie?" Alex asked, feeling her heart rate accelerate as the panic picked up, leaving a sharp taste on her tongue and throat. This was a bad situation. Really bad. Alex wondered what the hell what going on. Who was behind this. But some how, deep in her mind, she already knew who was responsible. Her stomach churned and dread made feel sick.

She should have known it wasn't going to be that easy to get away from him. She should have told someone the things he had done to her, how he'd ruined her life while her mother was working, or just gone. Now Nessie was involved and god knew what was going to happen to her. Would he do the things to Nessie that he'd done to her? Would he ruin her life as well? She saw a door open and her gaze fell upon a figure she recognized immediately.

"Hello Alex," a voice called. A voice that magnified Alex's fear by a million. A voice Alex had prayed she would never hear again. It was the same voice that brought dread into her stomach and brought her back to the memories she had spend months trying to forget.

"Hello Drake."

There he was, in all of his glory. He was six foot three and looked every bit as terrifying as Alex remembered. However, there were details she had never noticed until recently.

His face was so pale, his skin was smooth, his dark hair shone. He had dark brown eyes that shone of evil and darkness.

Nessie tensed and tried to squirm.

"Don't even try it, hybrid," Drake whispered, causing both of the girls to freeze. "That rope is stronger than you with the drugs I have inside of you."

"That's right, I know. I'm a quarter vampire and my brother's daughter here is one eighth vampire," Drake whispered sneering sickly.

"I'm human," Alex whispered.

Drake laughed and knelt beside Alex. His warm breath against her face made her stomach churn.

"Mostly, but you're also a hybrid," he whispered taking his her face in his hands like he hand done so many times before when Alex's mother wasn't home.

Suddenly, someone walked into the room. It was a man Alex had seen before. He was Drake's friend who often participated when Drake had done the unthinkable.

His name was Kyle and he was every bit as evil as Drake.

"We need to talk," Kyle whispered.

Drake stood up and walked away from the girls.

"Don't worry, we'll have our fun later," Drake purred as he walked out of the room. "Alex knows what I'm talking about."

Alex felt dread building in her stomach. No one knew about that and now, Renesmee knew.

"Who is he?" she asked, weakly squirming.

"He was my step-father. But when he murdered my mother, he went on the run and I was sent to live with Carolyn," Alex explained shaking with fear.

"He's going to hurt us, isn't he?" she asked, shaking with fear.

Alex could only nod.

"He's hurt you before hasn't he?" she asked again, once again guessing right. Alex nodded limply. Suddenly, Alex's mind spun, her heart pumped harder in her ears and images began flooding her mind.

 _Drake and Alex standing in a different room. He was staring hungrily at her. He was licking his teeth._

 _"I'm glad you volunteered to be first, though I must admit I was surprised," he murmured, grabbing her face to keep her from turning her head._

 _"Let me be the first to say good-bye," Drake murmured._

 _Kyle snuck behind Alex and took a syringe filled with yellow liquid. He plunged it into the side of Alex's neck._

 _As Alex sunk to the floor, Drake whispered, "now, our secrets go to the grave."_

The images stopped and but the room spun violently.

"I think I have a plan," Alex whispered to Renesmee. "There is a chance we could get out of this alive."

"And what makes you think that?" Renesmee asked, desperately.

"Let's put it this way. If I'm right and haven't lost my mind, I inherited more from Alice than a love of shopping."

"Do you think you saw something?" Renesmee asked, her voice filling with hope.

"Yeah, my death," Alex whispered.

"How the HELL does that get us out of here alive?" Renesmee asked.

"Because, if I'm right, I can use what I saw and turn it around."

Alex could hear Nessie gulp. "What if your wrong?" Alex's stomach sank to her feet at the sound of the fear in the younger girls voice.

"Hope like hell that I'm not."


	11. Chapter 10: Tables Turn

**Warning: May included mention of rape. A few more chapters.**

Alex didn't have long to formulate her plan as based on what she had seen because just minutes after telling Nessie, Drake came into the room with a sick smirk on his face. He looked between the two girls and grinned like a child who could decide which toy he wanted to play with first.

"Who wants to play first?" he said in a sick tone that made Alex's skin crawl.

"I want to go first," Alex said, knowing even if she was wrong, she'd do whatever she could to keep Nessie from enduring anything that could traumatize her anymore.

Drake's sick grin grew ten times and he reached down and untied Alex, quickly tying Nessie to a pole.

Alex followed Drake out, her legs going weak with fear. If she was wrong in what she had seen, she had volunteered herself up to him and if she was... She could only hope to act on time.

"I know you're only doing this to save her," he whispered sickly. "But there isn't anything you can do for her now."

Alex gulped and prayed he was wrong.

Before Alex knew it, they were in the room Alex had seen earlier.

Drake was staring hungrily at Alex. His eyes looked vicious and terrifying. He looked every bit the monster he always appeared in his mind before he had his fun with her. He was licking his lips as though he was waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, the adrenaline went into overdrive. She knew at once that what she had seen was real and it was happening.

Alex knew she was going to have to act fast, not to save her life but Nessie's life and her innocence. He wasn't going to take those things from Nessie like he'd taken from her. Her senses went wild and suddenly she could see and hear things she's never seen and heard before. She could hear a door creek quietly open behind her. From Drake's dark eyes, she could see a reflection of the view behind her. Kyle was walking quietly behind her. Somehow, over loud crashes of her heart against her ears, should could hear his every step.

"I'm glad you volunteered to be first, though I must admit I was surprised," he murmured, grabbing her face to keep her from turning her head. His palms felt warm and rough against her face. She swallowed back the fear that was building in her throat, the thickness that felt like it was suffocating her. She was going to have to be strong to save herself, to save Nessie. She knew this moment, regardless of the outcome was going to change her forever.

"Let me be the first to say goodbye," Drake murmured sickly.

That is when everything started to move in slow motion.

"No, let me," she said, her voice filled with more confidence than ever before when talking to Drake.

From Drake's eyes, she saw Kyle extend his arm toward her neck. The syringe was positioned just the right way for what Alex was going to do.

As the syringe was a few inches from her neck, she reached back, surprised that her hand wasn't shaking and grabbed Kyle's wrist. Before Kyle had as much as a chance to reach, she swung his wrist, and thrust his hand up so that the syringe was plunged into Drake's thick neck. It was surprisingly difficult to plunge the needle into his thick hard skin, with strength and speed she didn't know she possessed.

"Goodbye, you fucking asshole," she whispered quickly before shoving the plunger down hard and injecting half of the lethal liquid into his throat. Drake's expression changed from many times within a second. The tables had turned and there was no way he could have seen this coming. The effects of the liquid were almost instant. His pupils dilated and clouded over lifelessly as he crumpled to the ground in a heap.

When she knew Kyle had moved into the right position, the did a buck kick to his family jewels. His hand released the syringe as he fell to his knees in pain. Alex grabbed the syringe before it fell to the ground and shoved it into his neck.

Before she pressed down on the plunger and ended his evil existence, she knelt down and whispered something she'd wanted to say to them for a long time.

"You were never meant to grace this planet with your disgusting existence."

And like that, the plunger was pressed and Alex knew for once in her life she was free. The vile creatures who had haunted her dreams, her thoughts and every waking moment were gone. All at once she knew her dream of Drake and her mother were real.

Wasting no more time, Alex ran across the room and threw open the door to find Nessie staring at her with wide eyes.

"I was right."

Once Alex untied Nessie, she grabbed Nessie, who was still weak from the chloroform and wasn't high on adrenaline like Alex was and helped her towards the door.

As they were walking past the bodies, the door burst off its hinges and the whole Cullen family and five bear sized wolves stood there, ready for a battle that was already over. They stared around the room, all of their expressions confused and shocked, except for Edward who just looked shocked.

"They're dead, right?" Alex asked the vampires in the room, who just nodded.

"What happened?" Esme asked as she watched Edward take Renesmee's arm Alex's shoulder as the rush of adrenaline began to wear off. She found her legs and fingers were shaking. She felt Alice's arms grab her as she begun to sinks shakily to the ground.

Edward looked from Alice to Alex for a second and gave a small grin.

"It appears, Alex inherited more than just looked from Alice. Lord help us."

 **This is FAR from the end...**


	12. Chapter 11: DNA

After Edward spoke, Alex passed out.

When she woke up, she was in the back of Alice's car. Her head was resting in Seth's lap and he was running his warm hands through her hair. He was so relaxed to have his imprint, safe in his arms. She could hear Seth and Alice whispering to each other. Alex stirred in his arms and looked up into Seth's eyes. He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead.

For a minute, Alex hoped everything from the day had just been a nightmare. Had she really just killed two people?

Confusion swelled in her mind and now that there was no adrenaline clouding her mind, she was processing everything she had heard and done.

Alex sat up and looked around. Seth was only wearing shorts and looked like he had been crying. Alice, who was driving insanely fast down the highway, was gripping the steering wheel so tight, that her knuckles looked whiter than they usually were. Clearly Edward had filled them in on _everything_. He probably didn't know the extent of everything until today, as Alex never thought about it much.

"Where's Nessie? Is she okay?" Alex asked, suddenly remembering the other girl. The girl who was a hybrid, like Alex possibly was.

"She's fine, she in the next car over," Seth assures and he planted a kiss on the top of her head and pulled her close. Seth was never going to let his angel go.

Alex looked over and could see Nessie waving from the window in a silver volvo.

The whole family knew her secret now. Of her nightmare with Drake and now Seth knew why she reacted the way she had to him. Alice looked like she wanted to bring Drake back to life so she could kill him in a less merciful way than Alex had. Carlisle and Jasper were getting rid of the bodies once and for all.

When they arrived back to the Cullens' home, Alice stepped out of the front of the car and climbed into the back seat. She took the smaller girl and gave her a big hug. Alex sighed, knowing she was going to have to answer a lot of questions, questions she wasn't sure how to answer.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked, feeling concerned for the young girl she held in her arms.

"I guess so," Alex sighed. "I'm just nervous. What did Edward tell you guys?"

"He told us what happened, what that vile creature did to you and how you saved yourself and Nessie from facing a similar fate," Alice said, hugging the young girl tighter.

Seth took Alex's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Let's go inside," Alice said, grabbing Alex's hand and helping her out of the car.

Alex and Seth settled into the living room while Alice poured some tea for Alex to sip on. Alex who was still not processing anything that had happened over the past few hours, was sitting in Seth's arms staring at the blank TV. She'd been aware of what was going on but she was acting on instinct to live, instinct to protect.

The first person to come in the door was Nessie. Nessie wrapped her arms around Alex and gave her a big hug. Alex returned the hug and smiled at the girl who for now only appeared to be three years younger than herself.

The next people to walk into the room were Bella and Edward. Surprisingly, they also threw their arms around Alex too.

"We wanted to thank you, so much for saving our little girl. You saved her life and for that we are eternally in your debt and from the looks of it," Edward said, looking at his own daughter, so happy that she was alive, well and untouched.

"Thank you," she said, unsure of what else to say after you kill two rapists to protect someone. Alex couldn't help but look back at her messed up life and be grateful for the simple fact that she was also alive.

The before Alex knew it, the whole Cullen family was in the room.

"We are here right now to discuss the genesis of Alex. That man said you are his niece, and that you are an eighth vampire. I took a DNA sample from him, I'll take one from you and we will cross analyze them and then I will examine it to find out if you are really part vampire," Carlisle said, frowning.

After a few minutes, Carlisle had swabbed Alex's cheek and left to his lab. Alex was getting tired, when she yawned, Alice grabbed her hand.

"You're not sleeping on the couch tonight," she said, pulling Alex towards the stairwell.

Alex followed Alice up the stairs, groggily dragging her feet.

Alice walked up to a door and threw it open. Inside, the room was a warm yellow with soft pink and blue accents. It was warm, comfy and inviting.

"You will sleep in your room tonight," Alice said, pointing to the room.

Alex threw her arms around Alice and hugged her tightly.

"I never noticed how strong you were," Alice said, hugging the girl back. "But you need some rest."

Alex changed into her pajamas and walked over to her bed. A knock on the door alerted her that someone was there. Seth looked nervous, like he was unsure if her should be there or not.

"Can I come in?" he asked, his voice sounding nervous for the first time since Alex met him. She nodded and patted the bed beside her for Seth to sit. Once Seth was seated, Alex immediately curled into his side. She felt safe in his arms and right now, she needed to feel safe.

"How are you doing?" Seth asked as he nestled his head onto Alex's neck and allowed himself to be comforted by her scent.

"Okay, I guess. I'm just tired," she said, yawning. Seth was about to say something when soft snores stopped him. He tucked Alex in and curled up beside her. Soon, they were both asleep.

**** Carlisle's Lab ****

Carlisle was sitting at the microscope, staring at Alex's DNA sample and stared at it confused. Her genetic structure was similar to Nessie's, however, most of the vampire genes appeared to be dormant right now. But as he stared into the microscope, one of the dormant genes, came to life and a few of the genes around it began twitching.

Carlisle knew he was going to have to keep an eye on Alex. But, how to get her where he could closely monitor her...


	13. Chapter 12: Rosalie

**Still, there are more secrets to be revealed...**

When Alex woke up the next morning, she was curled into Seth's side. He was sleeping peacefully when Alex slipped out of bed and went downstairs. Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie were sitting in the dining room talking when Alex stepped into the room. Esme was making food for Alex and Seth, while Carlisle and Rosalie sat at the island talking.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Esme asked, placing a heaping plate of food in front of Alex.

"Fine, especially now that I've rested," Alex said taking a bite of food.

"Well, you let me know if you want to talk about _anything_ ," Rosalie said, patting Alex's shoulder sympathetically before heading out the door. Alex knew by her tone what she meant by 'anything' and she wasn't ready to talk about that yet. As much as she wanted to pretend it never happened, she knew she would have to talk about it eventually. Something in Rosalie's eyes told her she understood what Alex was going through in a way the others didn't. The only Alex couldn't figure out was how.

Alex wasn't eating for long before Carlisle cleared his throat.

"I checked your DNA, and I was did find traces of vampire genes. Most of them are dormant, or they were dormant until recently," Carlisle said, staring at her.

"What does that mean," Alex asked as she handed her plate to Esme to be washed.

"It means your vampire genes were asleep and now, they are beginning to awaken."

Alex frowned, looking at him, still trying to figure out what that meant for her life. How was this going to change who she was?

"I wouldn't worry, I can't see too significant of a change happening in your life but I want to keep an eye on you. I was thinking, since Carolyn thinks Alice is your cousin, maybe you could spend some weekends here, so we can track the changes that might occur within you as these genes awaken at whatever pace they happen," Carlisle said, grinning. Alex could tell he was thrilled to have something that was new to him to study.

Alex nodded and stared at her hands. They looked the same as they ever did but the knowledge that her whole genetic structure was changing, made her head spin. She wasn't human? She'd never had an appetite for blood, had super strength or speed. She'd always been regular and now, she was finding out that she was far from normal.

Alex opened her mouth to ask a question, when Alice and Jasper appeared in the middle of the room.

"I just finished speaking to Carolyn, she's fine with you spending weekends here. She said you might also want to stay for a few weeks next months when she goes to California for a conference," Alice said, wrapping her arm around Alex.

Alex grinned at Alice who was now looking upstairs.

"Seth just woke up," Alice stated, sitting beside Alex, whose grin grew upon hearing the wolf's name. Alice would have to get used to the young boy's presence, as he brought Alex happiness and peace. With everything Alex had been through, she wasn't going to take that away from her.

Seth came downstairs and into the dining room. Alex's heart quickened just a bit when he walked in and placed a kiss atop her head.

"What's going on?" Seth asked, grinning at his imprint.

"Just finishing breakfast," Alex said, as she stood up so she could look at Seth's face.

"Well, I need to patrol, so I'll be back in a few hours," he said as he headed out the door. "But if you need me, just tell Jacob and he can have me here in the blink of an eye." With one last kiss, Seth was gone.

Alex was sitting in the living room, with Alice watching a video of Emmett after he'd lost a bet and had to wear a dress and dance to a Taylor Swift song. Rosalie walked into the room slowly and sat down with Alex. Alice suddenly stood up, turned off the TV and said, "Jasper needs to see me, I have to go."

"Can we talk?" Rosalie asked, making it clear to Alex that Jasper didn't need to see Alice for anything.

Alex nodded, nervous for what Rosalie wanted to talk about.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Alex said, looking at the ground.

"That's not what Jasper said," Rosalie countered.

Alex sighed, of course Jasper would know what she was feeling, even if she didn't. She crossed her legs and looked up at Rosalie.

"Look, I know what you're going through. I've been through something similar. It's not easy to get over and I'm here if you want to talk about it, whenever you're ready," she said, crossing her legs as well.

"I'm going to tell you my story now," Rosalie said and then started the story that lead to her transformation. **We know the story, so I'm not going to repeat it...**

"It was one of the hardest things I had gone through. There will be hard times and that's when you need to surround yourself with people who care about you, even when you feel like shutting yourself away from the world."

"Did you ever tell anyone?" Rosalie asked suddenly.

Alex nodded. "My mother, she didn't believe me," Alex sighed, frowning.

Rosalie seemed shocked, how could someone not believe their own flesh and blood when they made such a claim. Rosalie knew Alex had to have been around 14 when it happened.

"I'm sorry that happened. But you don't have to worry about him coming back," Rosalie said, in an assuring voice.

When Rosalie went to stand up, Alex grabbed her wrist.

"There's more, I don't know if Edward mentioned this because I don't think about it much," she said, nervously. She knew they were going to find out once her medical record was opened. The reason Drake wanted to take her and her mother out of the picture. He knew the truth was going to come out.

Rosalie sat down, Alex's expression suddenly changed and nothing could have prepared her for was Alex was about to say.

"Last year, Drake forced me to have an abortion."

 **Next chapter up soon... Big reveal. Next chapter includes details of Alex's dark, unspoken past...**


	14. Chapter 13: Breaking Point

**Previously: This chapter involves discussion of rape and abortion. It is NOT graphic but is important to the plot. Just a warning but I cried while I wrote this...**

 _Rosalie sat down, Alex's expression suddenly changed and nothing could have prepared her for was Alex was about to say._

 _"Last year, Drake forced me to have an abortion."_

Rosalie's whole expression changed. For the first time since she woke up as a vampire, Rosalie actually felt the room spin for a minute. This was a fifteen year old, who'd been forced to have a abortion. Rosalie felt like her heart split into pieces, she wanted to throw up, she wanted to rip Drake's head off... In a few seconds, so many violent images of what she wanted to do to Drake passed through her mind.

"I'm sorry," Alex cried, making Rosalie freeze and wonder how much anger her expression must have showed. Rosalie told her how much she wanted children and now Alex thought she was mad about a forced abortion. Rosalie took the child into her arms. The anger began to melt away when she saw Alex's devastated face. A child who was too young to know such pain existed.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at _it_ ," Rosalie said as she rubbed Alex's back. Drake didn't deserve to be regarded as a human being in Rosalie's eyes.

"It's why he killed my mother. The police launched an investigation, he wanted to eliminate us from the picture," Alex sobbed as she remembered the doctor who did the procedure whispering that they were obligated to investigate any abortions under the age of 18.

"It's my fault my mother's dead! You should be mad!" Alex sobbed harder. For a second, Rosalie wasn't sure how to respond, except to hold the girl closer.

"That is not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong; Drake did. He was a monster, he did those things, not you! Don't you dare blame yourself for something that was forced upon you," she said, strongly. "And before you can say anything, the world is a far better place now that he isn't around to ruin it."

For about an hour, Rosalie held onto the small child as she cried out years worth of pain onto her shoulder. It was the most devastating thing she'd ever experienced and what's worse, is she knew all she could do was let the girl cry and just try to calm her if she became too hysterical. There was nothing she could do to get rid of that kind of pain and heartache. This was something that needed to come out and as much as it hurt to watch, Rosalie knew this is what the child needed. Rosalie at points found herself crying along with the child.

When Alex finally began to calm down, Rosalie just handed her a kleenex but kept holding her incase another wave of tears came. When Jasper and Alice approached her about talking to Alex, she wasn't sure what to expect and she got a lot more than she'd expected. Jasper had said she was holding back emotions but Rosalie didn't even think Alice had seen such a heartbreaking confession coming out of Alex's mouth. She was surprised the child opened up to her but Jasper said, she was coming to a breaking point, whether she knew it or not. Alice wanted to be there, but her eyes were pitch black with thirst.

Alex's eyes were bloodshot from crying so much, Rosalie didn't know such a small person could hold so many tears.

"You okay now?" she asked, moving Alex's bangs off her warm forehead.

Alex nodded.

"I'm sorry for crying over you," Alex said, her voice cracking.

"I'm here for you anytime if you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to. I know Seth'll listen but I'm here if you want to really talk and try to help you make sense of everything. There are somethings its just better to talk to another woman about," she said.

Alex nodded and hugged Rosalie.

"I'll get you some water," Rosalie said, walking into the kitchen. Her phone beeped halfway to the sink. At vampire speed, she glanced at her phone.

 _Try Gatorade_ was the text Alice had sent her.

Rosalie grabbed a sports drink and went back to the living room. Alex looked exhausted, but she also looked like a child who had been through way too much. Like a child who had never experienced a mother's love and that's what this child desperately needed right now. She handed her the bottle and pulled her back into her arms. It wasn't long before Alex fell into a deep sleep.

After a while, Alice came through the door. Her eyes were back pale gold but her face was a mask of devastation. She'd not been aware of just how much Alex had truly been through, just how much she was holding back and how hard it was to not be there for her.

Rosalie lifted the small girl and placed her into Alice's arms. Alice curled up onto the couch with Alex nestled tightly into her arms, fully prepared not to move until morning.

"She's been through a lot Allie," Rosalie stated.

Alice nodded as she began rocking the child in her arms and humming to her. When Jasper came in, he wrapped his arms around his wife and sent the two girls calmness and tranquility.

"She needs us, Jazzy," Alice said once Rosalie had gone off the find Emmett. "And not just part time."

"I know, Allie, I know," Jasper whispered. "We'll hold a family meeting in the morning."

For the rest of the night, Alice rocked her great-great-granddaughter in her arms, ready to become the mother Alex needed so desperately.

 **This chapter was hard to write but it's crucial to the developing plot. This chapter was to create a solid bond between Rosalie and Alex, next chapter will be up soon.**


	15. Chapter 14: Arrangements

When Alex woke up in the morning, she was still being held by icy cold arms, but they weren't Rosalie's. This time, they were Alice's arms. Alice was looking around the room, absentmindedly stroking Alex's hair. Jasper sat on the arm of the sofa, his arms were wrapped around Alice's shoulders. Alex felt so safe and comfortable right now and she felt as though a thousand pounds had been lifted off of her shoulders. Suddenly, Alex remembered they now knew _everything!_

"Hey sweetie," Alice whispered. "Did you sleep okay?"

"She's really peaceful, Allie, just worried," Jasper said, kissing the top of his wife's head before walking to the kitchen.

"What's got you worried? Because, Rose was right, nothing that happened to you was your fault and we're not judging," Alice said.

Alice suddenly reached down and grabbed the bottle of gatorade. Alex took the bottle and took a long sip. As grown up as Alex liked to think she was, it was nice once in her life to have someone take care of her for once in her life. Growing up, her mother had either been too drunk, or too busy to spend this kind of time with her. And then she met Drake and things went to Hell in a handbag.

The first time Drake walked through the door when Alex was 13, she knew he was trouble. Then, when she was 14, he proved himself to be the devil in disguise, the very first time he forced himself onto her. She'd put up with it for three months, before she realized she was late. Drake of course found the test after Alex took it and his words would haunt her forever.

" _Money can make anything go away._ " Except for the memories, Alex thought to herself as she lay on the couch in the arms of her only living relative.

"Sit up, I want to ask you something," Alice said, sitting up so that Alex could sit up.

Alice looked Alex in the eyes.

"I was thinking, right now you need more support than Carolyn can offer you right now with her career, so I was wondering, if you wanted to make staying here a permanent thing," Alice asked, smiling.

Jasper walked into the room holding a plate of pancakes. "Are you sure?" Alex asked, looking between Jasper and Alice.

"Yeah, we're sure. I know that everything will work out fine," Alice said, smiling at the idea of Alex coming to stay with them. Her blood wasn't even an issue for Jasper thanks to her being part vampire. Which was another reason it was important for her to be there. Since she'd been there, there have been subtle changes within Alex that the Cullens' have been observing. Changes so small, she might not have even noticed.

Lightening of skin, a drop in temperature and her heart was beating just slowed enough for the vampires and Seth to take notice.

Alex threw her arms around Alice, so happy to be wanted.

* * *

"Family meeting!" Alice called out once Alex was done with her breakfast.

Within seconds, the whole Cullen family was sitting in the living room. Rosalie gave Alex a quick shoulder squeeze before taking a seat next to Emmett. Edward looked started as his gaze fell from Rosalie, to Alice and back to Rosalie. He was probably hearing in their thoughts the things that had been revealed last night.

"We've been thinking, Alex needs the support of a family right now. We were wondering how everyone would feel if Alex moved in with us," Alice asked, already knowing how this was going to end.

Rosalie was the first to speak up.

"Absolutely."

It wasn't long until everyone had voted in favor of Alex moving in. Carlisle and Esme had left to speak to Carolyn about the arrangement. Alice had already explained that they were going to agree with the idea of Alex being close to a blood relative.

Once everyone went off to do their own thing, Alex approached Rosalie.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Sure, what's up? Are you okay?" She asked, her face concerned but understanding.

"I'm fine now, I wanted to thank you for yesterday," she said. "I've never broken down like that, I don't know what happened," she said in a rush.

"Oh, it was nothing. I'm here if you ever need to talk," she said, smiling.

Later that day, Seth showed up and found Alex in the living room, doing her nails with Alice, Rosalie, Bella and Nessie.

"No boys allowed!" Nessie screamed, as Alice and Alex shoved him out of the room.

"You are strong for such tiny people," he said as he was pushed out the door.

When Seth got outside, Edward, Jasper, Emmett and Jacob we sitting on rocks along the forest line.

"They kicked us out, too," Edward said, rolling his eyes. "It's ladies night. We aren't allowed in 'til morning."


	16. Chapter 15: Dodgeball

Alex hated the idea of going back to school. She enjoyed the long weekend and wished she could stay home in Seth's arms forever. But unfortunately, she knew she had to go to school, so at the very least, she could keep living with the Cullens'. The last thing she needed was someone to get suspicious about the fact that she never showed up to class.

Alex made her way through the day, bored with her classes. They were easy for her now for some reason. It was as though she was understanding everything she was learning on a whole new level. Like channels in her brain that she'd never known existed all of a sudden flew open and everything became crystal clear to her.

When Alex met Seth at lunch, he put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. The warmth from his body brought her great comfort and Alex felt the stress from the day wear off. It felt so nice.

"I have to go to gym class," she said, as she put some food into her mouth.

"Yeah, I've got history next," Seth said rolling his eyes. "I need to give a presentation on world war two."

Alex laughed as she at her food. She liked gym but she'd rather be in Seth's arms than going to class.

Alex went to gym after school and was happy to discover they were playing dodge ball. She'd always loved dodgeball and was always good at it. It was a game that brought out her frustration.

Alex threw on her gym clothes and walked out of the change room. She was excited about this game. She liked competition and knew that she could be a little over competitive but she didn't care.

She took the ball in her hand, and smiled at her team. She was going to make sure they won. She narrowed her eyes at the other players and once the whistle was blown, she began threw the ball. She hit Paul Jacobs in the leg. He cried out and limped to the side of the gym. He was OUT!

Alex dodged around her side of the gym, trying to grab a ball, and when she got one, another player from the other team went down. It was exhilarating. Her senses came alive and suddenly everything was crystal clear.

Suddenly, it was only her and Liam Dale. Liam Dale was the biggest prick in the school and Alex was going to wipe that smug smile right off his face. She grabbed a ball and took aim for his gut, which was the highest she was allowed to hit without being disqualified. She felt her heart rate accelerate as she threw the ball at him as hard as she could. She watched the ball fly towards him. She could almost see ripples in the air as the ball glided through the air.

When the ball made contact with Liam's gut, his face was priceless. But the ball hit him with such impact that he was thrown at least ten feet across the room. He hit the wall with a crash, and sunk to the ground, clutching his gut in pain. Alex felt her jaw drop as she stared at the scene in front of her. The whole class fell deathly quiet as it processed in their minds what had just happened.

It took only a few seconds for what had just happened to process in her mind what had just happened. Fear kicked in and her legs began to trembled and she bitter taste of fear began to settle on her tongue and her mind began to spin. Alex's mouth hung open as her stomach felt like it had dropped to her feet. Liam curled into a ball and his face was clouded with pain. Alex could hear her heartbeating in her ears, like all of the blood in her body was now pumping around in her head.

As her classmates turned to stare at her with dropped jaws, Alex could feel her heart accelerate even more. This wasn't natural nor was it healthy for her heart to beat so fast. For a second, Alex stood there frozen in fear and terror. But as the fear kicked in, fight or flight took over and Alex chose flight. Alex bolted out of the gym as fast as she could, not looking where she was going and crashed into a brick wall. Alex frantically tried to move around the wall, but it followed her and cold, hard arms grabbed her wrists.

"Alex, look at me, calm down!" Alice's voice called, barely processing through her minds panicked haze.

Alex tried to continue running but the grips on her wrist were too tight, she couldn't move.

"ALEX, IT'S ME!" the voice screamed, bringing her back to reality. Alex looked up and noticed Alice standing in front of her with a worried expression. Alice was holding her wrists to keep her from running away and she was watching Alex as though she was making sure she was okay or not going to bolt.

"I didn't mean to... I don't know what... what the Hell was... Oh my God!" Alex cried out hysterically.

"Calm down, Alex, Breath! It's going to be okay! Come on, Breath!" Alice called.

Alex tried to focus on breathing but she could still feel cold hard panic gripping her stomach.

"Come, let's go outside, okay," Alice guided the panicked girl outside. They got into the back of Edward's volvo. What was Edward doing here?

"We were hunting, when Alice insisted that we had to stop what we were going and come here immediately," Edward answered.

"Carlisle is coming to give the school an explanation that will eliminate any suspicions about what happened," Alice reassured as she looked Alex in the eye.

"But what happened!" Alex asked, her voice trembling.

"That was your vampire genes manifesting. Strength and speed. You're going to have to be careful in gym class from now on. Don't worry, Liam will be fine. Bruised but fine. A lot of the kids didn't see what actually happened, you'll be able to go back," Alice said, in a calm, reassuring voice.

"Don't worry, from what I can see, school will be fine from now on," Alice whispered as she gave Alex a quick hug. "Just be a little careful in gym from now on."

 **The change begins...**


	17. Chapter 16: Tingles

As Alice promised, Alex was able to go back to school and no one, really knew what happened, so no one was really looking at her differently. Alex explained to Seth what happened and he laughed and told her how much he dislikes Liam and would have paid to watch his being thrown into a wall.

For the next couple of weeks, aside from watching her strength in gym class, things had become relatively normal at school. Alex was becoming a little bored with her classes but she enjoyed spending time with Seth at school, so she put up with it. She went home after school with Seth and would spend time with him on some nights and other nights she'd hang out with the Cullens'.

Alex had begun talking to Rosalie occasionally about things going on with her. They shared stories, and just talked about anything from school, boys or even shopping. Rosalie had even begun showing Alex and Nessie some basics of car mechanics, which to Rosalie's pleasure, the two girls seemed to really enjoy.

Jasper had recently begun working with Alex to help her control her newfound strength and speed, as he'd observed Alex when she hadn't even been aware she was. He would do things like having her walk up the street and back to see how fast she would return and if she returned to quickly, he'd have her go back and try again. It was surprisingly difficult for her to learn to move at a normal pace.

Jasper was also beginning to work on strength training, first teaching her to control her new strength. They did things like picking petals off of flowers without destroying them and brushing a barbie's hair without ripping it all out.

For once in her life, Alex felt happy, safe and loved. She felt like she had people who cared about her well being.

When Alex arrived to school on Thursday, she held onto Seth's hand and savored the way his hand felt in hers. She could see everyone staring at her as they walked down the hall. They were still talking about what happened in gym. They didn't know what had happened, but they knew it had something to do with her. It had turned her into the talk of the school.

Though a lot of students refused to believe that a girl her size could have thrown a boy Liam's size into a wall just by throwing a dodgeball at him. Now students stared at her, trying to figure out if it was true or not.

Alex made it through the morning with no incidents. When she went into her last class before lunch, she was impatient and tired of being stared at. Oliva was the only one who was actually talking to her. Olivia didn't believe the story going around and made it clear that she would not be convinced. Alex felt bad because people were now starting to shun Olivia because of it, but Olivia made it clear that she didn't care.

When the lunch bell rang, Seth wrapped his arms protectively around Alex, who breathed in his comforting scent. It brought her such comfort and contentment as though she could forget about her dark past and just enjoy being in Seth safe, strong arms for a while.

"Let's go on a date tonight," Seth said suddenly as they walked towards the cafeteria. Alex felt her heart flutter at the idea of going on a date with Seth. They'd spent a lot of time together recently but not as official dates.

"Okay, what did you have in mind?" Alex asked, as she sat down and looked into Seth's eyes.

"I was thinking we go out to dinner and a movie," Seth said, taking Alex's hands.

"Sounds good," Alex said, leaning in for a kiss. But someone cleared their throat, causing both people to look up.

"We get it, you're in love, but this is a room full of people trying to eat," Olivia said sitting down, her tray down. Alex and Seth both blushed and started eating their food.

Alex noticed recently that she wasn't enjoying food as much as usual. Alex was eating and she enjoyed the flavors but it just didn't taste the same anymore. Its like it had lost something and didn't bring her the same amount of pleasure as it used to. She wasn't too concerned as it was probably just that time of the month throwing hormones at her. She figured it might just be a bug or something messing with her. The last time she checked, there was a flu bug going around.

As Alex chatted with Seth and Olivia she noticed her classmates were pointing to her and whispering to each other.

"Ignore them," Seth said as he kissed Alex's hand, causing her cheeks to flush bright red.

"You guys are nauseatingly adorable," Olivia muttered rolling her eyes.

Alex made her way to history and sat in the classroom, taking in facts and writing down notes she was sure she no longer needed. A few minutes before class was over, the teacher was handing out assignments for the class to work on by next class.

Suddenly, a new smell filled the room. It was beautiful, like nothing Alex had ever smelled before. It was like food but almost better. Alex thought it was perfume from the girl behind her. Alex turned around to as the girl where she'd gotten such a mouth watering perfume but found that the girl had a papercut and was bleeding. Alex turned back in her seat and felt her heart race.

After a few minutes, the smell had vanished and Alex was sure she was fine. Alex smiled as the bell rang and went to the sanctuary of Seth's loving arms and smiled as all of her problems once again disappeared, except for a tingling feeling in the back of her throat...

 **Oooh!**


	18. Chapter 17: Perfect

"Alex, Seth is going to be here in five minutes, get your shoes on and let me take a look at your make-up," Alice said as she watched Alex put her shoes on while Rosalie finished brushing her hair.

Alex was wearing a teal dress with her black hair curled into waves around her shoulders. Alex's face was flushed pink with natural blush and on her face was a minimal amount of make-up. Alex felt her stomach do flip-flops as she looked in the mirror.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale," Alice observed as she brushed some hairs off of Alex's dress.

"Just nervous," Alex admitted. "This is our first formal date."

"Well, do you need to talk about anything?" Rosalie suddenly asked.

Alex shook her head and smiled.

"I'm fine, I've just never been on a real date like this before," Alex whispered as she looked at her reflection. She looked wonderful. She felt like a fairy tale princess and was enjoying every minute of it.

"You'll be fine. Seth really cares about you, so you just act naturally and the rest will come naturally. Just remember, you're only fifteen, so you need to be home by a reasonable time," Rosalie pointed. "It is a school night."

"But why did Seth choose tonight instead of tomorrow?" Alex asked, looking Alice to Rosalie.

"I don't know, but Jasper and I would like to talk to you once you get back home, okay?" Alice said suddenly, smiling at Alex.

Alex nodded and stood up upon hearing the door open and close. She knew it was Seth.

Downstairs, Seth was wearing dress pants, shirt and tie. His hair was slicked back and he looked so handsome. Alex's stomach fluttered when she saw him and Alex knew her cheeks had gotten redder.

"Hello Alex," Seth said holding his hand out for Alex to take. She put her hand in his and blushed even deeper when he kissed it.

"Let's head out, we have special reservations," Seth said, guiding Alex out the door and to what Alex recognized as Edward's volvo. He wasn't using it because he had taken Bella, Nessie and even Jacob to Alaska to visit "family". They were going to be gone for another week.

They drove out the highway until the reached a fancy restaurant. Seth guided Alex inside, past tables of couples and fancy wait staff and up a flight of stairs. It wasn't long until fresh night air surrounded Alex again but this time, it was like the night stars were circling her. On the roof was a single, candlelit table with a waiter. Seth took Alex's hand to her lips and kissed in once more before guiding her to the table.

"Hello, Mister Clearwater, Miss Brandon, you are right on time," the waiter whispered, as Seth pulled out a seat for Alex to take.

The waiter placed a few menus down in front of the couple and left the two lovebirds to think. Once Seth and Alex ordered their meals, Seth took Alex's hands and placed kisses on her knuckles. Alex blushed and smiled.

"Why did you choose to come here tonight?" Alex asked as their meals arrived.

Seth chuckled and pointed up to the sky, just in time for the show to begin. A meteor shower. It was beautiful to watch as Alex held onto Seth's hands. As they ate, they stared at the stars soaring through the sky. Once the show was finished, Seth took Alex's hand once more and smiled at her.

"It's over," Alex whispered, looking into Seth's eyes.

"Alex, see the stars in the sky?" Seth asked pointing up to the sky at the cloudless, star covered sky. Alex nodded, looking at the constellations, the stars and the beautiful sky. It seemed almost magical tonight as she held onto Seth's hand.

"They are nothing compared to the stars I see every time I look into your eyes," Seth whispered, looking at Alex with pure adoration and love. He leaned over and kissed Alex on the lips, and Alex knew what she'd always known but was terrified to admit. She was falling in love just as quickly as the meteors flew through the sky. Alex wrapped her free and around Seth's neck and brought him close and deepened the kiss.

When they broke apart, Alex smiled at Seth and took his hand with hers and began counting the stars that were not reflecting in Seth's eyes. The ones she knew would never go away.

* * *

Back at the Cullen household, Seth walked Alex to the front door.

"Seth, I had an amazing time," Alex whispered, as she held onto both of Seth's hands. She knew everyone in the house could hear but honestly, she didn't care. She was far too gone to even think about them.

"I did too," Seth said. "But I should..."

But Alex cut off his words by locking lips with him and sharing a heated kiss with the boy she was beginning to love. She could feel him pulling her closer and could now feel his heartbeating with her own. It was a simple but hungry kiss and it ended all too soon.

"Goodbye, my lovely Lexicon."

Alex walked into the living room and noticed everyone in the room appeared to be sitting down at the same time. Alex knew they could hear her heart fluttering and see her furious blushing and no doubt they had heard the kiss. Alex float towards the sofa and collapsed lightly onto it. Jasper looked at her, his eyes wide and rubbed his head.

Esme, Carlisle and Rosalie left the room, leaving Alex alone with Jasper and Alice.

The two vampires sat so they were surrounding her.

"We know that you're fifteen years old but I want to ask you something," Alice said, smiling at Jasper.

"You've become the daughter I've never had and we wanted to know how you'd feel about making it official?" Alice said.

"We were wondering," Jasper said lovingly, wrapping an arm around Alice. "If you'd let us adopt you."


	19. Chapter 18: Party

_Welcome Home, Alex Cullen_

Alex laughed when she saw the sign hanging over the door.

It had been a month since Alice and Jasper proposed adoption and today it was finalized. It had been an interesting process. There wasn't enough charm in the world to bring the courts to allow a couple of teenagers to adopt a teenager, so _technically_ she was adopted by Carlisle and Esme. But as far as Alice, Jasper and the rest of the Cullens were concerned, she was officially theirs.

That wasn't as hilarious as Emmett posters that read things like _A bouncing teenage girl,_ and _it's a Teenager!_

Alex grinned from ear to ear as she looked at her new family. Her aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousin and best of all parents! She threw her arms around Alice and Jasper whose faces were flood with pure joy and happiness. Because of the fact that Alex was smelling less human lately, it was easy for Jasper to hold his new daughter in his arms and he loved that. Alice was above the moon with happiness as she looked at her new daughter. She looked like a mini version of Alice, which made that more of an easy transition.

"I love you mom and dad," she whispered, causing the pairs' eyes to shine with tears that would never fall. It was clear Alice had never expected to ever have anyone call her mom.

Alice grabbed her new daughter and hugged her tight. "We love you, too, honey!"

"I brought cake," Jacob called, smiling as he brought a massive cake into the room. Nessie, who was now taller and looked almost older than Alex came bursting into the room with cups, forks and spoons. She threw her arms around Alex and gave her a quick squeeze before helping Jacob set up the table. As Leah passed Alex to get some cake, she gave Alex a pat on the back. Leah had been making an effort to get to know Alex recently. After all, she was dating her baby brother, so she didn't want to be enemies with the young girl.

After an hour of eating cake, dancing and singing, Nessie and Alex had fallen asleep on the couch while everyone else continued to party. Bella and Edward had stopped to take pictures of the two sleeping hybrids. Alice looked over at her new sleeping daughter and felt her heart just filling with joy.

"Pretty amazing feeling, huh?" Jasper said wrapping his arms around his wife.

Alice nodded unable to form words for what she was feeling. She had never considered having children, but Alex just seemed to complete the picture. She was still Alex's great-great-grandmother but now, she was her mother too.

"How's parenthood treating you? Rosalie asked the couple, as she approached them.

"I can't believe she's ours now," Alice gushed, causing Jasper's smile to widen. "There are so many things I want to do with her now, so much to teacher her."

Rosalie smiled at Alice and gave her a quick hug. "She couldn't have asked for a better mother."

Carolyn walked in and everyone stopped congratulating Alice and Jasper and started talking to Carlisle and Esme, who were so proud to have a second granddaughter that it was easy for Carolyn to believe they had adopted her themselves. She knew that Alex was better off with the Cullens and she knew, deep down, that Alice ould keep an eye out for the young girl.

**** In the Distance ****

He sat crouched in a tree watching the party as it went on. The girl was now a Cullen. He'd heard of them and didn't care for them one way or another. They were just vampires with weird eating habits. He was interested in the girl. He remembered her mother. He'd met her not long after he'd become a full vampire. He'd been searching for the one who turned him, when he'd run into her. She was something. Unlike others her age, she was intelligent, smart and observant; even for a hybrid like herself.

He stared down at the girl and her family. He had no intention of separating them but he knew they were in for a bumpy road ahead. He'd been a newborn vampire when she was conceived and her mother was a halfblood. He'd never known a female hybrid was capable of giving birth, so when she found out she was pregnant, he panicked. He still had no clue how his quarter-blood brother managed to kill the woman, when giving birth to a child who was stronger than her did not.

He stared at the Cullens and smirked. They had no idea how drastically that girl was going to change and just what was coming for them. He knew there was a threat coming and he knew he'd do what he could to protect his daughter from a distance, but there was only so much he could do.

He knew his decision to neutralize her vampire genes was right but even he knew it wouldn't last forever. He watched as his daughter slept for a few more minutes before he went off into the forest, silently wishing his daughter and her new family luck. They were going to need it. Her change had only just begun and if she was anything like she was as a toddler, her powerful bloodlust was going to send them for a loop.

"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into."


	20. Chapter 19: Sparkle

One week after her adoption was finalized, she went back to school under her new name, Cullen. That got the whole school buzzing. She was now one of the Cullens and they all had questions. As Alex, Seth and Olivia sat in the cafeteria eating, they were talking about what was happening outside. The sun was shining and it was bright.

Alex loved having the chance to go outside after school and hang out with Seth. She made her way to her classes after lunch and had to keep reminding herself not to use too much speed or too much strength. It was becoming almost too easy for her to do now and as cool as she found it, she knew her classmates would not agree.

Alex finished in gym class and hoped into the shower. She enjoyed the feeling of a shower after a long gym class, despite the fact that she never actually broke a sweat. She was about to head outside to enjoy the sun when she noticed her phone buzzing. She ignored it but when it went off again, she ignored it, wanting to get home.

She went out the door, holding Seth's hand. As they passed into the sunlight, suddenly Seth grabbed Alex and violently jerked her back into the shade.

"What!" she cried, staring Seth down. But he was too busy looking Alex up and down like he was looking for something. He looked startled as he looked around the parking lot to see if anyone was looking.

"Take my hand," he whispered suddenly in a way that freaked Alex out but she took his hand.

"Watch," he whispered, and swung her hand into the sun. Alex gasped, not sure what she'd seen the first time but the second time confirmed it. Her skin was reflecting sunlight like a disco ball. She gaped at her hand and looked at Seth, her face becoming a mask of terror. Suddenly, the van that was offering shade to the couple began to pull out. Seth grabbed Alex's hand and quickly pushed her into the school.

"Call your mother," he whispered, not knowing how to get Alex from the door to the car. He couldn't drive up to the door because of all of the grass in front of the door and she couldn't go to the car without blinding drivers as they passed.

"You were sparkling ALL over!" he motioned up and down.

"What do we do? We can't stay here all day," Alex whispered, pointing to the school entrance.

"Library," Seth said, pulling Alex down the hall. When they got into the library, Alex almost took her regular seat by the window but then she realized she couldn't sit there right now, she went for one of the quiet corners with Seth following behind.

"Call your mother," he whispered.

Alex nodded and took out her cell phone. She took her cell phone out and dialed Alice's cell.

"What's us sweetie?" she answered. She clearly didn't know, otherwise, she wouldn't be so calm.

"We're stuck here. Actually, I'm stuck," she said into the phone, trying not to say anything too obvious for any humans to hear.

"Stuck where? What?" Alice asked, confused.

"Mom, I'm stuck inside the school! I'm embracing diamonds in the sun," she said as cryptically as she could without outright saying she was having a vampire moment. Alex could hear nothing for a second before Alice let out a shocking string of curse words.

"We discovered it on the way to the car," Alex pointed.

"Fuck, did anyone see you?" Alice asked over the phone. She heard Alice suddenly call out Jasper's name, telling him to get downstairs.

"No, thanks to Seth, no one noticed. I almost didn't notice," Alex cried.

"How bad is it? Is there any change no one will notice if you just walked to the car?" Alice asked hopefully, filling Jasper in over the background.

"Depends, does it count if they're blinded by the light and can't see her?" Seth said. Alice let out another curse word.

"Five minutes!" Alice whispered. "We'll be there in five minutes."

Alex grabbed Seth's hand and pulled him to the door. Alice's porsche pulled up minutes later. Alex's phone beeped.

 _Send Seth out._

Alex showed the phone to Seth who approached the car and something was thrown into his arms and the window quickly closed. Seth approached me and held to bundles of clothing. He handed one to me and began putting on the other. Hoodie, ski cap, and gloves.

"What now Seth?" I asked, looking to the car. Seth handed me a pair of sunglasses, and began putting his own shades on.

"We are going to run, at human pace," Seth said, grabbing Alex's hand.

With that, the pair took off towards Alice's car. Once they were inside, Alice set the car in motion and drove down the road.

"Your car, Seth!" Alex pointed. He shook his head and rubbed Alex's shoulder.

"I wish I'd known this was going to happen, I would have kept you home. Are you okay?" Alice asked, looking back at her daughter, her face masked with concern.

"I guess so, I just didn't know what to do. I'm sorry for making you rush out here," Alex said frowning at the ground.

"I would have done it in a heartbeat, you're my daughter now and that's what family does," Alice said, grabbing Alex's hand and turned back to focus on the road.

Alex leaned into Seth's shoulder and snuggled, feeling content as his arm wrapped around her.

When they pulled into the house, Seth took Alex into the backyard, he removed her hat and hood. She took off the hoodie and gloves and stared at her bare arms in the sun. Set came behind her and took her in his arms. He wasn't sparkling but his arms looked perfect against hers.

Jasper came into the backyard, to find Seth and Alex sitting in the grass, just talking to each other.

"Alice says it will be sunny tomorrow, so Seth, you're going to have to go to class alone," he said, smiling at his new daughter, who was staring at him.

"I've never seen you guys in the sun before," Alex said, smiling. "It's too bad the world can't see you like that."

"The world can't see _us_ like this because of rules we need to enforce. But, you're right, it would be nice," Jasper said putting strong emphasis on the word 'us'. Alex smiled, and for the first time, she felt like she belonged.


	21. Chapter 20: Vision

The sun was shining brightly as Seth went to his car to go to school. But he stopped halfway and pulled Alex into a kiss and everytime he tried to step away, he would kiss her again.

"You know, we covered for Alex for obvious reasons, but if I have to call the school about you Seth, I'll make sure to mention that you're not there because you are here making out with our daughter," Alice said, crossing her arms at the sight. Alex stood there, taking in Seth's scent, which seemed stronger today and his heartbeat, which seemed louder today.

"Bye Alex," Seth said, once again kissing his girlfriend.

"Getting my phone, Seth," she said, sounding a little annoyed.

Alex watched Seth leave, listening to his car travelling down the road. Alice took Alex into a quick hug.

"It's only until three," she said, walking Alex into the house. Alex sighed, that seemed like forever to her. This was the first day since she moved in with the Cullens' that she couldn't go to school with Seth.

Luckily however, the Cullens' had a reputation of taking of sunny days to go camping and hiking, so she already knew that's what they were assuming. She wondered how many of the humans had tried to pull that one off on their own parents and probably failed. But, there wasn't a choice, they had to miss or they'd expose themselves. But Alex failed to see how a connection would be made from sparkling in the sun to vampire.

In the kitchen, Rosalie was sitting at the counter, reading Car and Driver Magazine, while Emmett and Jasper played video games. Alex's senses seemed to be on overdrive today and she sat down at the table and picked at her breakfast. It tasted fine, but Alex noticed she wasn't really getting much out of the food she was eating. It was more like she just enjoyed the feeling of the food and not like she actually needed it.

"Oh Seth! Don't go! Let's just make-out in the garage!" Emmett suddenly mocked, making fake kissy faces at Alex. Rosalie walked over and smacked his head which seemed louder than usual for Alex. It was almost becoming overwhelming for her. She looked at her parents and watched as they stared at each other with longing faces. She could tell they wanted to be alone. She looked at the two of them and smiled.

That combined with all of the loud noises and strong smells, she just wanted to be outside.

"Can I go for a walk down to the lake? I just want to stretch my legs," she asked, looking from Jasper to Alice.

"Yeah, sure," Alice said, her face clearly displaying that she couldn't wait to be alone with her husband. Rosalie and Emmett rolled their eyes. Alex bit back laughter. Rosalie and Emmett were far worse than Alice and Jasper. The only ones who came close were apparently Edward and Bella.

"Have fun," Jasper called.

As Alex went outside, she was overwhelmed by the smells of nature and everything around her. Everything had been crisp, and clear lately, it's just recently, it had become overwhelming and overbearing. It had become too much. Alex had no idea what had changed, but it was getting progressively worse, like she didn't have the energy to tolerate it.

She made her way down to the lake where she spotted a person fishing in the lake. Alex ignored him and went to a part of the lake where she wouldn't be seen by this man in her sparkling glory. She laid down in the grass, watching him fish, watching the water and watching the clouds roll in the sky. It was interesting to watch. Suddenly, the man caught something, he reeled in the line and took the fish off. It wasn't big, so he let it go.

He began to put some new bait on the line, when he suddenly let out a curse as the line broke skin.

Suddenly a new smell hit Alex. It was the most power thing Alex had ever encountered. It was like in the classroom when her classmate had gotten a papercut, only worse. Because this time it wasn't tingles down her throat, her throat was on FIRE...

* * *

Alice and Jasper were enjoying each others company, now just cuddled against each other. They hadn't spent this kind of time together in a while and they'd missed each other.

"I can't believe how much has changed recently," Alice gushed. "I didn't know I wanted a child but Alex has just brought it all together."

Jasper smiled at his wife. "I know, I feel like she was the missing piece to a puzzle, that we never knew was missing."

Jasper took Alice into his arms and sniffed her hair. It hadn't changed since they'd first met. He couldn't help wonder if Alex was going to continue aging or freeze like Nessie was going to.

"It's just nice to feel like a family and I feel like in a way, she has helped to solidify my past and help me to connect a few of those missing pieces," Alice whispered into her husbands chest.

For a minute, Alice and Jasper just held each other in a moment of pure bliss. Suddenly, Alice's eyes clouded over and it was clear she was seeing something.

Suddenly, Jasper was hit with panic, guilt, fear, terror and so many emotions all at once. Alice looked almost too scared to breath at what she'd seen.

"It's not the Volturi is it?" Jasper asked, but it was like she hadn't heard him.

"How could I have not seen this coming? How could I have missed THIS?" she cried, throwing her shirt on inside out and backwards, knocking Jasper out of the bed in the process. There was desperation in Alice's eyes that Jasper had never seen before. It was like she couldn't move fast enough. Her eyes looked almost devastated with guilt, terror and fear.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Jasper asking his mind flooded now with his and Alice's cold bitter panic. It felt like acid on his tongue and he almost felt sick to his stomach with fear and dread. Alice was a complete disaster. Her expression was complete and total horror and fear.

Alice grabbed a pair of pants, _his_ pants.

"Come on Jasper, get dressed, get dressed NOW!" she screamed, throwing on her shoes on the wrong feet as she began cursing out her ability.

"Is someone going to slip up?" Jasper guesses, zooming around the room getting dressed. He looked at Alice and tried to guess how bad it was going to be, more importantly, how quickly would they have to get out of town?

Alice nodded running out the bedroom door with Jasper following behind but he was struggling to keep up. He watched as she stared at her car keys for a fraction of a second before cursing and stating it wouldn't be fast enough, they weren't going to make it. Alice pulled out her phone and went to dial a number but crushed the phone in frustration when there wasn't an answer.

"Who?" he asked, throwing on a shirt. Emmett and Rosalie were in their room, Carlisle was... it wasn't Carlisle, Esme was in the kitchen, that left Edward, Bella or Nessie. His mind shot to Bella, as she was the newest vampire in the family.

Oh, poor Bella. But they were at their cottage, preoccupied. Nessie was on the rez, with the wolves. Whoever it was, it was going to be bad, because Alice was beyond frantic about it. She had Jasper's pants on, her shirt was inside out and backwards and her shoes were on the wrong feet and she couldn't care less as she drew out her phone and shot off a quick text to Carlisle. No doubt the code _food's ready_. They'd set up that code as it was a text anyone would send but they don't eat, so...

Alice looked frantically around the room and stared at him for one second before saying a word that was like a wrecking ball to his gut. A name he would have never guessed.

"It's Alex!"


	22. Chapter 21: Thirst

**This story is my top fanfiction priority right now. I am going to try and finalize other stories but for right now, I can only focus on one at a time. I'm sorry.**

Alex could smell it, it was like nothing she'd ever smelt before. This wasn't like in school where she was merely curious about the source of the smell. This was desperation. She could feel every fibre of her being calling her to that smell. She wanted it, no, she needed it! She had to have it.

She knew what it was and part of her brain was resisting, just not the part that was in control at the moment. It felt like her whole brain had come alive but only the parts registering the smell and throat were active. She grabbed her throat and roared in pain. She barely registered her actions in her mind from that point on. She knew they were happening, she was aware of her sensations, her actions but she was no longer in control of her own body.

She found herself moving towards the man at a speed faster than she'd even moved in her life. The man would have never even known Alex was coming, what was about to happen to him. Alex could hear this man's heart beating loudly in his chest. She could see his pulse with her eyes, like it was an invitation or a guideline. Like a target!

Her mouth filled with saliva and she looked like a predator. She could hear his music from his headphones, she barely registered the song Anaconda playing. Too bad the irony was completely lost in that moment. All she knew was his inviting, warm blood. It's what her body needed so badly, how could she have not known how badly she needed this?

Again without thinking, she had grabbed the man and bit down and suddenly she was in heaven. She heard someone screaming her name in the distance but at that moment, it was just a meaningless word. There was only one thing in this world right now. It filled her, strengthened her and almost completed her.

She vaguely recognized the sounds of people running towards her. They wanted what was hers. They'd have to fight her for it. Alex realized, too quickly that it was almost over. The flame in her throat was all but gone and she kept savoring. The beating of the man's heart had stopped and soon, so had the source of Alex's meal. Suddenly two people stopped abruptly, clearly examining.

 _Nothing left to share,_ the monster in her mind taunted.

"Alex!" a devastated voice gasped.

Alice stared at her daughter and the body that had now been dropped at her feet and felt devastated. Alex stared back but Alice knew she wasn't seeing her or Jasper or anything. She was lost in a haze of bloodlust, more powerful than anything the child had ever experienced and now fueled by human blood. She might acknowledge they were there but right now, Alice and Jasper were nothing to her but a threat to her meal.

Suddenly, there was another smell. Alice and Jasper noticed it first. Jasper made a grab for Alex just as the smell registered with her as well.

The flame was back and Alex was ready. She was angry that human hadn't been enough but this one somehow smelled the same, if not better. Again, she needed it more than anything in her whole life.

But as Alex began to move towards it, she quickly discovered that she could no longer move. Arms wrapped tightly around her, she was being held against a rock! Her arms were pinned to her sides and she could barely register just how tight she was being gripped. She was stronger. She struggled against the rock, trying to use her feet to push off but that wasn't working. In fact, the hold became tighter. Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted into the air and another pair of arms grabbed her legs.

 _What the hell!_ The monster wasn't happy to be blocked from a meal when it was wondering so freely towards her! This was someone who wanted her meal! She struggle desperately to break free but they weren't budging.

Suddenly, the smell got weaker and weaker. Alex struggled against whoever was holding her. She could hear an animal snarling and roaring furiously. As the smell got weaker, Alex realized, she was the one who'd been snarling and roar but she was still being held against her will. She fought and thrashed, more desperately.

 _NO!_ The monster was desperate. So was Alex. She needed that! She knew there was more blood and these people were taking her away from it. They should know how badly she needed it. Couldn't they see it on her face?

Finally the smell was gone and Alex soon found new parts of her brain opening. She registered the passing trees, taking her away from her meal, the sound of the birds flying towards it. Suddenly the monster slipped away, as though to say ' _Maybe next time._ '

Then her senses came back to her, like when a smokey room suddenly clears and everything is back to normal. Well, her senses high like they had been earlier, if not higher but now, Alex's body was tolerating it easier. The slight burn in her throat that she had been ignoring for a couple days, now was gone.

And then, Alex looked up and identified her captors now that her mind was clear and rational. Jasper and Alice. Her parents. She stopped fighting immediately in their grips. They both came to a sudden halt, in the middle of the forest. Their faces were filled with so much despair and disappointment. When they set her down, she looked at their faces and she knew by their somber and grim expressions; the man was dead.

Alex felt her stomach churn and her vision blurred as she tried to get away. They'd hate her forever now. She'd killed a man just for his blood. What kind of person does that without as much as a second thought? They probably never wanted to look at her again.

But a hand grabbed Alex's wrist, keeping her from running.

"We don't hate you," Jasper said, causing Alice to gasp.

"No, of course not!" she reassured, looking lost for words.

"Did you not see what I did?" Alex exclaimed. "I killed a man! How can you not hate me! Why would you still want me as a daughter!"

Alex hadn't even realized she was crying until she felt a cold tear falling down her face.

"Because, we love you Alexandra Cullen and nothing you could do would change that," Jasper said, pulling Alex into a bear hug. Alex sobbed into his shoulder.

"I should have been paying attention. I didn't notice the changes that were right in front of my eyes. Alex, answer me a question, it's serious. Had you throat been feeling weird before today? Any tickling, burning or itching?" Alice said, looking into Alex's eyes.

"Some itching, maybe slight burning," she confessed. "I thought I was just coming down with something."

"No, that was thirst and we never explained it to you," Jasper sighed, staring at his wife. He should have been able to pick up on that. "We honestly didn't think it would come up."

"Who was he?" Alex asked. Alice looked at Jasper, who simply shrugged.

"His backpack had a New York tag, so I'm guessing he was a tourist," Jasper muttered.

"I was fine, I swear, until he pricked his finger with his fishing line," Alex muttered. "And then... it felt like..."

"We know what it felt like, I just can't believe we actually let this happen," Alice muttered. "We should have paid closer attention, told you what to look for, not that there was much you could have done back there..."

"I could have not bit him!" Alex shrieked.

"It's not that simple. He spilled blood, which makes the smell more potent and powerful. Most vampires struggle greatly around open blood," Alice explained, sitting down on a log and patting a spot for Alex to sit. Jasper pulled a rock up in front of the girls and sat where he could see them. He was working hard to keep Alex calm and content but he could feel that her throat was still burning. But she also had blood on her chin, neck and clothes. Human blood; he could smell it and he knew Alice could too.


	23. Chapter 22: Blood

Alex became aware of the blood she was wearing and the fire returned. She knew this blood belongs to the man she'd drunk from and she could still taste the blood on her tongue. She was tempted to lick the blood from her chin and sweater but she didn't want Alice and Jasper to know.

"Alright Alex, right now; give me that sweater!" Alice demanded suddenly, just as Alex couldn't bear the smell any longer. Alex took off the sweater and handed it to Alice who threw it into the trees as hard as she could. When, for a split second, she considered running after it, Alice threw her arm around Alex and pinned her daughter to her side so she couldn't move.

Unlike when she'd done it in a friendly way, this was a steel grip that left Alex unable to move. When Alice was sure Alex wasn't going to bolt after the sweater, she loosened her grip but kept contact with Alex, whose throat was still burning. Alice debated whether or not to bring her back to the house to wash before they took her hunting.

When Alex thought they weren't looking, she licked a bunch of the blood from off her chin; though it tasted _amazing,_ it made the flames ten times worse.

But of course Jasper and Alice noticed what Alex had just done and the pain it caused her.

Alice looked at Jasper, who nodded; Alex couldn't wait. The taste of the blood had made too powerful an impact on her newfound thirst. Alex sighed and suddenly, the smell from the blood on her neck hit her, causing her let a sob slip. So Alice took her own sweater off and wiped the remaining blood off her daughter's face and then threw her sweater into the woods after it. Thankfully it was June, so it wasn't that extreme that the two girls were sitting outside in just t-shirts.

But hopefully they wouldn't encounter anymore people for Alex to drain. Alex was torn between the fire burning in her throat and the questions boiling in her mind.

"We are going to hunt first and then you can ask all the questions you want," Alice said, pulling Alex to her feet.

"Didn't you just hunt yesterday?" Alex asked.

"Thankfully, yes, but we're taking you hunting. This was, if you need our help, we'll be there," Alice said, smiling at Alex and her husband.

Alex suddenly was hit by another wave of pain and groaned into Alice's side. Hearing her daughter in pain, tore Alice to pieces. Jasper stood up and rubbed the child's shoulder.

"Let's go," Alice said, as she took Alex's hand. "Let us know if you can't keep up."

Alice and Jasper took off running. Alex sped up after them. She trouble keeping up at first but then, she fell in behind them and managed to keep up. After a few minutes, Alice suddenly stopped. Jasper and Alex stopped with her. They were in a thick patch of woods.

"What do I do now? What... happened earlier came..."

"Automatically, yeah, its our instinct to feed on humans but today, we're going to show you to feed off animals," Jasper explained.

"What if I come across an animal that's too big?" she asked, worried.

"We'll keep an eye out from a distance to make sure you don't hunt anything you can't handle. But we'll only interfere if we have to," Jasper said, taking Alex's hand.

Alex frowned but her throat was burning too much to question right now.

"What do I do?" she asked impatiently, both Jasper and Alice winced at her obvious pain.

"Close your eyes, and let your senses take over. Find a heartbeat and go for it, we've scanned the area, there are no humans around," Alice explained, hoping Alex would take easily to this. Thankfully, after a few seconds, the girl shot off after a mountain lion.

"Of course she'd zone in on big game immediately," not taking her eyes off of her daughter. Alex drank from the lion, disappointed by how different it tasted from the human she'd had just an hour ago. It was weak and bland but it soothed the burn and that was enough for her. When she was done, she looked up to find Alice and Jasper sitting at the top of a tree. They both looked terrified after watching her take down a mountain lion.

"It still burns a bit," she said, as the couple dropped from the tree at her side.

"Well, hunt a little more and we'll head back," Jasper said. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out."

Alex shrugged and went back at it. This time, it was easier to find prey. She was had just finished, when she noticed Jasper's shirt was ripped several ways.

"What happened to your shirt?" she asked him.

"Um... you did..." he said. "When we took you away from... your... um... hunt."

She looked over at Alice and laughed.

"Your shirts inside out," Alex pointed out as they walked back from hunting. Suddenly figuring out what the couple had been up to when she'd decided to feed off of the human. She remembered she'd left to give them alone time.

"I interrupted you guys when I... I'm sorry," she muttered blushing.

"Please, tell me you aren't seriously guilty for interrupting _that!"_ Jasper said in a demanding voice.

"Oh Alex, no, you didn't interrupt... Okay, obviously you did _but_ your needs are far more important at this moment. We're your parents now, you're our first priority," Alice whispered, hugging her daughter close, feeling embarrassed that she'd made a mistake like that with her shirt.

She looked at her daughter and pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Let's go home."


	24. Chapter 23: Maternal Instinct

**I want you to decide whether or not Alex should have a hard time handling blood lust. I can go either way with this. I'm not going to give her the same steel resistance Bella has but I want you to decide whether or not she's going to consumed by bloodlust or not. Add your opinion to the reviews. I update quickly when I can.**

Arriving home was hard. Seth who'd been waiting for Alex, frowned when she walked by him without stopping to talk. Alex knew he wouldn't want to hold a killer in his arms. That was what she was, after all.

Carlisle waited for them in the kitchen, with the rest of the rest of the family. Carlisle had not heard back from Alice or Jasper since he'd received the coded text. He'd alerted the others that Alice had sent it and to be prepared for a sudden relocation. Relief flooded Carlisle when he saw two more pairs of gold eyes from Jasper and Alice. The whole house had gold eyes. But, Alice would have only sent that text if she knew she couldn't stop an attack.

"I thought someone had slipped up," Carlisle muttered, looking at the two vampires. No vampires in this house had come home with red eyes. He'd even called down to the cottage to see if Bella had slipped up.

"I did," Alex admitted, through the lump forming in her throat.

Carlisle looked at Alex confused. He thought maybe she didn't know what he was talking about until he caught a closer glance at her eyes. Her blue eyes, now appeared purple from the red flecks that had clustered evenly throughout. She knew exactly what he'd been talking about.

"Alex, it wasn't your fault," Jasper reassured. "She'd been feeling signs of thirst since earlier this week but not knowing what to look for, she didn't mention it. So, today when she'd gone to the lake a man who'd been fishing cut himself and she... well, she didn't know what was happening, so..."

"Do I need to send out a flight plan message?" Carlisle asked. Alice shook her head.

"Jasper's going to clean up, while I take care of Alex," she said, ushering the girl upstairs.

In the bathroom, a tear spilled from Alex's eye and though she tried to hide it, it was clear Alice had seen it.

"Oh, sweetie, don't cry," she wrapped the girl in a hug. Alex cried for a little bit.

"I'm sorry, mom! I just couldn't stop!" she wailed.

"I know, honey, I know," she murmured.

"But, you don't understand. It's like the thought wasn't even there and it was..."

"The best thing you've ever tasted before. I know. I may not remember my past but I know none of the foods I would have eaten would have compared to it. And the bad news is that animal blood will never come close but it means people don't need to die by our hands."

"I want to be normal again!" Alex sobbed, knowing that ship had already sailed the day she was born.

After Alex finished crying, Alice decided it was time for her to get ready for bed.

"As you take those clothes off, hand them to me. We need to destroy them," Alice whispered, texting Rosalie to come over.

Rose appeared in the house just seconds later. She looked at the inside out shirt, the bloody clothes in Alice's hand and her heartbroken expression. She could hear Alex showering at almost midnight.

"What happened?" she asked, fearing one of the Cullens' had tried to bite Alex. She'd been informed that there was a slip-up but that was all she was given.

Alice took Rose's shoulder and guides her out of the room.

"Alex bit someone today. He'd cut himself while fishing by her favorite lake and she... she couldn't resist," Alice sobbed, heartbroken that she couldn't have prevented this pain from her daughter. Rosalie's face dropped and she looked quickly at the bathroom door.

"Is she okay? What do you need? A body taken care of, I'll do it," Rosalie said quickly. Alice shook her head.

"No, Jasper's dealing with that. I need to take her clothes into the woods and burn them. I just want you to sit with Alex."

Rosalie turned to the bathroom and then back to her pixie sister.

"Of course, go deal with that. I'll stay with her," Rosalie said, her heart going out to Alice.

When Alex got out of the shower she didn't feel much better. Rosalie was waiting outside the bathroom door when she came out. She wrapped her arms around the child, who immediately began crying. She sat down and pulled the girl into her lap.

"You know, what happened?" Alex sobbed. Rosalie just nodded. "I swear, I didn't mean for it to happen. I didn't..." The girl broke off in sobs.

"Alex, it's hard and anyone who's ever felt that hunger understands. It's the hardest thing to resist at times and sometimes, we slip up."

"I feel like a monster," Alex sobbed.

"No, look at me," Rosalie said, taking her girls face with her hands. "A true monster wouldn't care about who they killed and they certainly wouldn't feel guilty about it," Rosalie whispered. "I'm sure if a human spilled blood around me, I would have done the same thing."

Alice came through the door at vampire speed. Alex noticed that she smelled of smoke and firewood but Alex knew it wasn't from a campfire.

"I've got this," she said and before Alex could stand, just lifted her and cradled her easily in her arms.

"How are you doing?" she asked, receiving a shrug from Alex.

"Let's tuck you in," Alice whispered in a motherly tone as she carried Alex over to her bed. Once she was curled under the covers, she looked up at Alice with her purple eyes now big and round.

"Mom, will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" she asked. Alice felt her heart crumble into pieces as she layed down next to her daughter and drew the child into her arms. She stroked her hair until her soft sobs turned into light snores.

* * *

 _Blood, everywhere Alex turned, there was more blood._

 _It was dripping on her shoulders, into her mouth making her throat burn in agony. She heard someone laughing but she couldn't tell who it was._

 _More blood. Everywhere. It was a river of blood!_

 _"You're a murderer, a murderer!" the Cullens' chanted as they walked by._

 _"Get away from me, leach!"_

 _Alex was left with nothing but the sea of blood, and her scorching throat._

 _"Murderer!" a voice screamed and then..._

* * *

Alex woke with a start. The dream had been so vivid, she could still almost smell the blood and her throat violently burning. Her dream had triggered the burning in her throat once again. As Alex tried to go back to sleep and ignore it, the pain was too much. She climbed out of bed and went downstairs to where Edward and Alice were sitting on the couch, talking.

Alice immediately opened her arms for Alex, who had tears pouring down her face. Alex jumped into Alice's open arms and snuggled, trying to get comfortable.

"You're throat?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Edward had already filled Alice in on the vivid nightmare and its immediate effect on Alex. Alex knew Edward knew the truth, so she didn't bother hiding it. She was in too much pain to bother.

"In my dream, there was so much blood, everywhere. I could smell it, feel it and taste it," she said, the thought angered the flames more. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on breathing, but it just hurt so much!

Just as Alex buried her face into Alice's side, Jasper walked in, clearly aware of how much pain Alex was in. It broke his heart to see her in such pain. But Jasper also knew that a search party had started just yards away from the house; even without Alice's gift, he knew taking Alex out the door in her current condition would be disastrous.

"She needs blood," Alice whispered but hearing the word brought a new level of pain to Alex. She held back a whimper and tensed visibly, causing everyone else in the room to wince.

"I can wait until morning," Alex forced out. It felt like it hurt to breath, to talk. She tried to fight back tears but failed miserably.

"No she can't," both Edward and Jasper countered at the same time. Both of them were more than aware how much pain Alex was in. Jasper worried about the humans who were pretty much circling the property. He knew, in Alex's current state, if one of them came any closer, Alex would probably go off. Edward nodded, he knew the humans were coming in the direction. Alice also knew they were coming and feared they would spend the night restraining Alex from ripping multiple throats out when they did.

Alice felt like she was being torn in half when she felt Alex gripping her shirt with her fists, like that was going to relieve the pain somehow. Alex's whole body was rigid, sweat beaded down her face and tears poured. Despite how much pain Alex was in, she wasn't going to admit to it. Alice just smoothed over her daughter's hair, knowing she couldn't do much to offer comfort. She wondered it Alex was even aware of the touch.

When Alex's mind slipped back to her dream, the pain flared even more and a loud, painful sob shook her whole tiny body. Alice winced she tightened her grip on Alice's, still inside out, shirt, tear now beginning to soak through. Alex's tiny body was so rigid, she looked like she would snap in half.

Alice looked at Edward and Jasper and realized there was a way to help that didn't involve the bloodbath that would occur if they attempted to take Alex outside. She knew the people were approaching quickly and she'd have to act fast to keep them alive. Because she feared, with her maternal instincts, that once the human scent hit Alex; she might not even bother trying to restrain her. That she wouldn't be able to watch Alex suffer any more than she already was.

"Get me one of the blood bags! Now!" Alice demanded, her maternal instincts going into overdrive. Seeing her daughter was in so much pain, brought out a whole new kind of instinct that Alice had never dreamt of feeling in her life; the urge to do anything and everything to offer her child relief.

"But Alice," Jasper started nervously, knowing how many ways this could go wrong.

"No! She's in pain, you know it, I know it and she knows it. I'm not going to let her suffer anymore. I've checked her future and I've seen this is the only path that doesn't end with a bloodbath. Those people are coming and they won't be gone until tomorrow evening. Do you really want to restrain her for that long?"

Edward who knew what was going to happen if Jasper stayed; guided him out of the room after handing the still sealed blood bag to Alice.

Once they were in a place where the smell of open blood wouldn't affect them, she took the rigid girl into her lap where restraint would be easier if this went south. Alex was in so much pain, she didn't even register the movement or that she was being held.

"Listen, Alex. It's too dangerous to try and take you hunting right now. But, I can't let you go on like this. I'm going to do something I wouldn't usually approve of. I'm giving you permission to do this because as your mother, I won't sit and watch you suffer any longer," Alice whispered to Alex as she placed her arm over Alex's shoulders in a way that allowed her to restrain her with one arm. Alex of course was in too much pain to acknowledge what was being said or done around her.

Alice did a skim of the long-term future and could see no real consequences from this, so she braced herself for what was coming. Alice made sure Alex was completely restrained, except for her wrists and hands. She held the bag within Alex's reach and took in a deep breath, ready to hold it for as long as she had to.

When Alex let out a small, pain filled sob, without any hesitate Alice punctured a hole in the top bag with her fingernail. The smell filled the room and Alex's eyes snapped open wildly. The bag was snatched from Alice's grip. Alice stayed completely still as Alex gulped the blood down, taking note that Alex was becoming less rigid and tense by the second.

This blood was cold and missing some of the flavor fresh human blood contained but it was still better than the mountain lions she'd drunk from earlier. It soothed the burn down to a point she could tolerate and soon it was just about gone. She savored the taste and the relief it brought. When the bag was empty, Carlisle stepped in, and nodded at Alice to show her understood her decision and took the bag from her.


	25. Chapter 24: Assistance

Alex started around the room, taking a second to appreciate the pain being gone. Suddenly, Alex realized Alice was holding her in a vice like grip. She couldn't move but for the second time that day, Alex found herself licking a small trail of blood off her chin.

"Mom?" she asked, looking around the room, her voice weak from exhaustion. Suddenly, the grip loosened so Alex could turn and look at Alice's face. Alice looked like she was going to burst into tears of relief and joy.

"That blood, it was... human," Alex muttered. "I thought you didn't drink that?"

"We keep some in store for emergencies. I couldn't watch you suffer for any longer, so I decided to make an exception this once. In the state you were in, we would have never gotten you outside without you tracking one of the many humans who were close by. This was the only option left," Alice explained, staring at her daughter's eyes, which had taken on a few more red specs.

"Why does it hurt so much?" she asked Alice.

"I'm not sure. Nessie experiences bloodlust occasionally but not so powerfully. We will find out, don't worry," Alice said, hugging her daughter.

Alice stared at Alex, who was coming up with questions to ask.

"Let's go up to your room," Alice suggested. Alex stood up and staggered with exhaustion.

"I'm fine," she muttered, as Alice quickly scooped her up and carried her upstairs. When they were in Alex's room, she set Alex into her bed and tucked her in. She was already asleep. Alice could hear humans passing the front lawn, so she curled up next the her daughter; she wrapped an arm around her, just incase she had to make a jump to restrain her. A few times, she'd seen glimpses of men slipping and cutting their knees but changing their paths last second.

Thankfully, the humans didn't linger around the property too long.

Alex slept for a few more hours. While she slept, Jasper came in and curled up next to his wife. He and Edward had decided to go on a quick hunt in case the living room still had any lingering blood smells. Thankfully, Carlisle had opened the windows and aired out the place.

"How's she doing?" he asked Alice.

"Okay now. I'm sorry for snapping at you guys," she said as she absentmindedly stroked Alex's hair. "I was just feeling..."

"Like a mother trying to protect her child," Jasper finished, snuggling his wife.

"Do you realize how many of the idiots have almost injured themselves on our property today?" Alice said, suddenly, looking at her daughter with an alert expression. "When Alex wakes up, I'm going to take her hunting. Get her away from them because it's making me tense to have to watch out for so many futures all at once."

"I'll come too," Jasper said. "You look like you need to hunt too."

Alice hadn't stopped for a second to consider her own thirst and he was right. Her eyes were black; probably from sitting in the living room after she'd fed Alex. She'd held her breath while Alex fed but afterwards, she'd taken in a couple breaths but hadn't noticed her own thirst.

"Why is her bloodlust so powerful? Its almost like a full vampire but isn't she only an eighth vampire?" Alice asked, frowning. "It's like she has more vampire in her than Nessie?"

"Well, Carlisle still has both of their DNA. We can analyze both and see what we come up with," he said. "When we return tonight."

* * *

Alex woke up in Alice's arms and Jasper was holding Alice in his arms, while smiling at Alex.

"I'm glad you're feeling better than the last time I saw you," he said, reading Alex's emotions. When he focused hard enough he could detect some thirst slowly building. Both he and Alice had known that the blood she's given Alex would have only been enough to get her through the night without her spending the night restrained because people were parading the lawn.

"Still thirsty?" Jasper asked, detecting she was going to say no when he knew very well, she was. "Remember, I'm an empath when you answer."

Alex sighed, busted. "Yes, but I don't want to be a bother," she said, hearing the heart beating outside. Alex noticed the sound alone was slowly increasing the intensity because she knew they were human.

"How do we get her out?" Alice asked Jasper who suddenly got an idea.

"Ooh, good idea!" Alice shouted. Alex raised an eyebrow, not sure what the plan was.

Alice and Jasper took Alex downstairs where Emmett, Rosalie and Carlisle were sitting. They looked annoyed by the human presence but to their knowledge, no one was looking at the Cullens in connection.

"Around four they are going to discover his remains, close to a bear cage. Jasper scattered bear fur around, so their conclusion will be obvious," Alice whispered to her family. Alex, who knew they were covering up for her, felt extremely guilty.

"Look, we need your help. Alex is starting to be affected by the human presence and we want to take her hunting, just to get her away but we'd like a diversion. We'll be back around supper time," Jasper whispered, looking at Rosalie and Emmett.

So a few minutes later, Emmett and Rosalie went outside to the forest line and began a heated make-out session. Alex watched as the searchers who'd been on the property were all now focused in their direction. Especially when it appeared like Emmett was trying to remove clothing as part of the show.

While the searchers minds were preoccupied, Jasper picked up Alex.

"Bury your face in my neck and try to only focus on my scent," he muttered. Alex nodded and buried her face into his neck. She breathed in his comforting scent. "I'll join you in a few minutes," Alice said, storming outside in a show of fake anger.

"When we get outside, don't move your head and don't breath anything but my scent. I won't let you hurt them," he whispered.

Jasper opened the door and stepped out. Alex focused on his scent and only his scent but a few human scents managed to get in. When her thirst magnified, she felt Jasper sending her calming emotions. Once he was sure no one was looking, he took off at vampire speed into the forest. He didn't stop running for at least ten minutes, when the human scent was more than gone.

He was about to set her down when a text from Alice told him to take her further. So, he did as he was told and ran for another five minutes. When he set Alex down, she looked around. They were in another part of the forest.

"Alex, I need to tell you something," he started nervously. "With this bloodlust started, until you can gain enough control to be around people safely, you won't be able to attend school." Alex felt shocked. She was liking school now that Seth was there.

"But, what about Seth?" she asked.

"Alex, did you know the only reason we knew what happened yesterday was Alice's vision?" he asked. She nodded and frowned.

"With Seth around, she can't see you and if you were to... come across a human scent, Seth wouldn't be able to stop you. In fact, upon seeing your discomfort, he'd probably let you go for it. And with Seth around, it's hard for Alice to track you in her visions. We need to limit your contact with him, for the time being, to phone or video chat. It's crucial right now that we have a clear view on your future," Jasper explained.

"I understand, he probably doesn't want anything to do with me now anyway," Alex whispered, her lip trembling.

"He does, he understands now what happened and he hates that he can't be here for you but even he understands this is something he really can't help with. Give it time. I'm pretty sure you two will have more than enough of it to be together," Jasper smiled. Alex looked at him and could see he was telling the truth. "And once you gain enough control that we don't need to constantly monitor you, we'll see."

Alex nodded and then threw her arms around Jasper.

"Thanks dad."

Alice joined the pair not long after, followed by Rosalie and they were both laughing.

"Alice came over and pretended I had stolen her boyfriend. We got into a "fight" and we both decided to "blame" Emmett, so we left together, claiming that we didn't need him," Rosalie explained.

"Rosalie is going to help keep an eye on things while I hunt with Alex," Alice explained. "Two eyes are better than one."

"I don't understand, are you going to hunt somewhere else?" Alex asked.

"No, do you remember when you... slipped up. How much control did you have over your actions?" she asked.

Alex remembered she'd had no control whatsoever, otherwise, she wouldn't have done it.

"You'd been in what we refer to as hunting mode. It's where the decision making parts of your brain shut down and your instincts take over. When we hunt, we go into a similar frame of mind and if a human were to enter the picture, there wouldn't be a lot we could do to stop. If while we were hunting, you were to stumble across a human, I might not be able to stop you in that state of mind," Alice said. "Which is why Rosalie is here, to keep an eye out for us."

"Yeah, I'm here to keep an eye on things," Rosalie explained. "Besides, I left the property stating I was never returning, so I need to wait until the humans are gone to return."

"You ready Alex?" Alice whispered. "Just follow me. There's a flock of deer due east."

Alex nodded nervously, worried she wouldn't be able to keep up.

"Remember, just follow your instincts. Let them take over," Alice instructed before bolting forward.

Alex did as told and before she knew it, she had followed behind. The two caught a few deer. Alex frowned upon first bite. She compared the tastes on a scale of soda to watered down, bland juice. Human blood was soda, the mountain lion had been flat soda but this, this was the bottom. But, it soothed the burn, so she would take what she could get.

A few more deer later, Alex seemed perfectly content. Alice walked over to her and smiled.

"I feel better," she said.

"Yeah, you look better, too," she said, observing the fact that Alice's clothes were still clean and presentable, her hair was still neat and her face and hands were mostly clean. "Better than me, for sure!"

Alex however looked like a bloody mess. Her clothes were ripped and caked with blood, mud, grass and leaves. Her hair was just as much a disaster as her clothes, her face was smeared with blood and she was sure there was visible fur stuck between her teeth. Looked down at her feet and then over to Alice's. Alice was still wearing shoes, while Alex was sure hers were gone forever.

"Yes well, when going to school, it's best we don't wear our breakfast. But it's normal to be a bit messy when you're just learning," Alice said, as they headed back to Rosalie and Jasper, who were both watching contently from atop a tree.

"Yup, that looks about right," Rosalie said, taking in Alex's appearance. "Your first real hunt without assistance."

"Assistance?" Alex asked.

"You were in such pain yesterday. We may have thrown a few animals your way to speed up with process," Alice whispered. "But the mountain lion was all you!"

When the sun began setting, the gang headed back home after Alice confirmed it was safe.

"Those deer tasted bland," Alex said, as they made their way back to the house.

"Yeah, well, meat eaters are the closest thing to human blood because of their proteins. Herbivores don't usually taste half as good," Jasper pointed.

"Has anyone other than Jasper bitten a human?" Alex asked suddenly.

"Everyone except for Bella and I," Rosalie admitted. Alex stopped, shocked.

"Even Emmett and Carlisle?"

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago," Rosalie explained.

When they arrived back to the house, Emmett looked at Alex and broke down laughing.

"I don't recall you coming back from your last hunt in public condition either," Rosalie shot, but grinning slightly.

"But at least I took the guts out of my teeth," he shot back, pointing to Alex.

"No you didn't," Rosalie muttered.

Jasper and Carlisle had taken the opportunity to slip away so they could observe Carlisle's results. Carlisle looked at the DNA with a confused expression but a letter on the counter caught Jasper's eyes first. It smelled of vampire.

Carlisle followed Jasper's eye trail and told Jasper something he wasn't expecting.

"It's from Alex's father. He doesn't want to claim her but it revealed something. Alex is 3/4 vampire."

"I think a family meeting is in order."

 **I'm not going to have them keep secrets from Alex. Especially big ones like this.**


	26. Chapter 25: Family Meeting

Carlisle and Jasper called a family meeting minutes later. Alex argued that she needed to shower, so once she was cleaned up and looking less like something from a horror movie, the whole Cullen family sat in the living room. For the first time, Alex was able to hear Nessie's heartbeating from across the room but it didn't trigger thirst like the humans did. Nor did her scent.

She smiled as she sat down next to Alice, who already knew what was going to be announced. She suddenly took Alex's hand, as though Alex was going to need support at that moment.

"I'm sure you've noticed a difference in Alex's eyes recently," Carlisle announced, beginning the meeting. Alex squeezed Alice's hand. He was going to tell them what happened. Alice just simply nodded and wrapped an arm around Alex.

"There was an incident in the woods involving a human. Alex bit him. It turns out, she's part vampire. We'd been going under the presences that what..." Carlisle took a deep breath before finishing. "Drake told us about her being an eighth vampire was true. But it turns out, he was not aware that Alex's father had been turned into a full vampire before Alex's conception and that Alex's mom was a hybrid like Nessie."

"What does that mean?" she asked, frowning.

"It means, you're 3/4 vampire, which makes you move vampire than human," he explained. "He wrote it in a letter to us. It was a warning. He doesn't want to take you away, he just warned us of why he had done something called Gene Neutralization with you. He pretty much put your vampire genes to sleep until you were old enough to handle them. Now, they've awakened."

Alex's mind was now spinning. She had no idea that was possible or why he would do something like that.

"He did it because you had powerful bloodlust when you were small. He knew he couldn't stick around and that your mother wouldn't have been able to control someone who was essentially stronger than her, so he spoke to a vampire with the ability to neutralize genes. But because the genes were so dominant, he knew it wouldn't last forever. Just long enough for you to have a normal childhood," Carlisle explained, looking at Alex. "Which would explain your powerful attraction to human blood now; it's what you were fed as a toddler. So now, your body recognizes it and will automatically crave it. Your father worries that your bloodlust will be worse now than it was then. Which is why we are all here; so we can be prepared for a long road ahead."

"When will Alex stop aging?" Bella asked.

"I think it happened when her vampire side awakened but we can't tell for certain," Carlisle answered. "At least that's what recent DNA tests suggest."

"Wait, I might be stuck like THIS forever! I'm only fifteen! I need to grow at least five more inches!" Alex cried.

Rosalie stared knowingly at Alex who was still trying to process what she'd just been told. Alice pulled Alex into a hug. Rosalie slipped over and sat beside Alex. She took one of Alex's hands and gave it a friendly squeeze. Alex smiled at Rosalie and sat up straight, now holding onto her mother and her aunts hand.

"Which is why I'm going to make sure Alex is in a comfortable setting for her needs at the moment. This means, we can't have any human visitors. I'm sorry Bella, but I think you'll agree with me on this one," Jasper started. "Alex will be withdrawing from school for the time being. Carlisle has documentation stating that Alex has will be on vacation but has completed her exams and can miss the last month of classes."

"Yes, if you run into a human who asks about Alex; she is in Cuba right now with Alice, trying to trace down living relatives," Carlisle finished clapping to conclude the meeting.

Alex held onto Alice and Rosalie's hands for a while. She was confused and overwhelmed, especially when Carlisle placed the letter in Alex's hand.

"Can I talk to Alex?" Rosalie suddenly asked. "We'll be outside."

They went down to the forest line and jumped over the river. They stopped in a small clearing and Rosalie motioned for Alex to sit down.

"How are you doing?" she asked. Alex was stunned and hoped Rosalie didn't drag her away just to ask how she was doing.

"You seemed upset earlier and I figured we should talk about it," she explained.

"I'm not aging, what's there to talk about?" she asked, suddenly realizing something.

"That's a big deal, Alex. You're only 15 and you're going to be like that forever," she said.

"I figured I might stop aging but I was hoping to at least get a decent cup size before it happened," she whispered, slapping her hand over her mouth and a blush spread as she remember Rosalie could hear what she'd said.

"Yeah, I figured you were holding something back," she said laughing. "But, you never know. Your body has changed since you've been here. You might still develop in that area."

"But seriously, I'm fifteen and I'm going to be fifteen forever. What if I wanted to go to college? That can't happen since I probably won't ever look old enough to enroll. And what about Seth? In fifteen or twenty years and he's in his thirties? He'll be the pedophile chasing after a fifteen year old girl! It's not fair! You got to be eighteen, even Edward got to seventeen!"

"I know, it sucks and it's not fair but you need to learn to see things on the bright side. But, about Seth, the shifts stop aging when the shift. He'll be forever sixteen," she said.

"Well at least _he_ can legally drive!" Alex sighed, calming down.

"At least you'll get to redo high school from the very beginning," Rosalie said sarcastically. "Over and over and over."

Alex groaned and put her face in her hands. "It's already boring now and I haven't even gone through once!"

Rosalie went over and gave Alex a hug.

"It'll work out, I promise."

* * *

Rosalie and Alex headed back home and Alex went to the kitchen and grabbed a thing of ice cream. She began shoveling it in her mouth to find not only did she not like it, it tasted like garbage. Emmett was staring at her with a smug expression. That smug expression made her want to punch his lights out. But instead she plastered on a fake smile and pretended she actually was enjoying the ice cream. But in reality she was just trying not to spew over the floor.

Somehow and she wasn't sure how, she managed to get all of the ice cream in.

"Yum," she said smugly. Trying to force her grimace into a smile.

"Want more?" he asked, an evil expression on his face.

"Alex, just let him have this one!" Alice suddenly cried.

Alex rolled her eyes and stalked out of the room. She sat down on the sofa next to Alice and began watching TV but her stomach felt like it was going to explode. She laid on the couch and tried to shut her eyes but her stomach wasn't going to let that happen. She was in agony.

"Alex, you okay?" Alice asked, her face filled with worry.

"Wonderful, my stomachs just a bit jumpy," she said as her stomach protested to the ice cream again.

Suddenly, Alice gasped and ran out of the room as quickly as she could.

That's when Alex's stomach heaved, and all of the ice cream she'd just eaten and some of the blood she'd just hunted came flying out of her mouth. Thankfully, Alice had seen it and was holding a vase under her mouth.

Alice handed her a glass of water once she was done.

"Drink it, it'll stay down. Blood doesn't go well with dairy. We learned that one from Nessie the hard way," Alice explained.

"You didn't mention it sooner?" she asked.

"You would have done it anyway," Alice sighed, rubbing Alex's shoulder. "Feeling better?" she asked.

Alex nodded and slowly sipped the water.

"It's midnight, you should get some sleep," Alice said.

Once Alex was in bed, she fell asleep immediately.

* * *

Alex's dreams started out fine but Alex found herself in the same nightmare as last night. When morning came, she woke up with a start. Her heart was racing, sweat was pouring and once again, her throat burned like crazy. She stared around her sunlit room and tried to fight it.

She bothered Alice and Jasper more than enough with this thirst of hers. It wouldn't be long before they grew tired of her and cast her aside.

Maybe she could go by herself.

As she began to climb out of bed to do this, her door flew open and Alice stood in the doorway, furious.

"Have you lost your mind? Hunting by yourself! You don't even know how to scan for humans!"

"When I got here, you guys would go hunting twice, maybe once a week but over the past couple days, I've drug you guys hunting three times. You guys must be fed up!" she whispered.

"Alex, we don't care if we have to take you hunting three or four times a day, we will do anything to keep you comfortable," Alice whispered, her face softening.

"I had the nightmare again," Alex whispered.

"Come on, let's hunt," Alice whispered. "Jasper let's go."


	27. Author's Note: Very Imortant

Hello to my fellow readers,

First of all, I don't usually do Author's notes often and I'm sorry to those thinking this was going to be a chapter but this is something I need to do.

I am sorry I haven't wrote in a while but I've been going through an extremely difficult time, dealing with depression, anxiety and it has been hard, stressful and difficult to focus on anything.

I will be coming back to my writing and back to these stories and hopefully I will still have readers. I want to apologise for my absence but it was a much needed break from everything while I sorted things with myself out.

I also wanted to share that I am in a better spot in my life, more secure and at peace with myself. I came out of the closet… Come on, I'm sure you noticed my little crush towards Alice and how quickly I casted Edward away every chance I could. So I am coming to accept this about myself and I'm much happier. I've not only come out of the closet but out of my shell.

Once again, I am sorry for not updating, I plan to update soon. I'm going to write a new story once I tie up my current stories. I promise I will get back to these stories very soon. Expect to see new chapters by next week at the latest.

I am going to leave you with a piece of advice. If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, or your sexuality, remember that you're not alone. Though sometimes it may feel like it; you're not. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm always here to listen.

Keep dreaming and reading,

Love Always,

TinyButDangerous


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